Break Free
by Hyrde
Summary: High School AU: Dean is misunderstood and lonely. Seth and Roman are new and part of the football team. Will they join forces in order to bring down Evolution, the clique that rules the school?
1. Chapter 1

Break Free

"Some French verbs require à or de before nouns. For example, the verb 'venir' takes the preposition 'de' so that the actual meaning is 'to have just'. Now if we take a look at…"

It was not even past the first week of school and Dean was already daydreaming. It's not that he didn't like French. He really did. In fact, he loved to learn. However, the whole institution of school did not seem to mesh well with his personality. Dean was active, always had been and probably always will be. And the fact that school required him to sit still for about six hours every day with few breaks was pure torture for him.

"Mr. Ambrose!", yelled Ms. Jarnot, Dean's stern French teacher, startlingly him out of his reverie. "Is it going to be like this all year? If you want to have even a chance of passing the AP French exam you are going to have to pay attention."

"Excusez-moi, Ms. Jarnot, mais je suis attentif," replied Dean in a sweet voice attempting to charm his teacher. However, his efforts were always in vain. Ms. Jarnot had decided she did not like Dean the minute he walked into her French 4 class last year and no matter what Dean did, she just saw a smart-ass, punk kid who by some miracle kept getting good grades in her class.

But actually, Dean got great grades because although it didn't look like it he was always trying to pay attention. Even when his body fidgeted and prompted him to do all sorts of things like stare out the window, make paper airplanes or doodle all over his notebook, his mind was still focused on what his teacher was saying. And if he missed something in class, he would always go over it later when he read his textbook over and completed his homework.

Yet, he was labeled a punk and troubled kid by most, if not all of his teachers, so that's all he was seen as. His clothes probably didn't help matters either, thought Dean to himself, as his wardrobe of choice was his worn out jeans, a simple black, white or grey t-shirt and his trusty black leather jacket to go over his bad boy ensemble. But Dean wasn't about to change his clothes just so people would think better of him. It wasn't in his nature to do that.

"Really?", replied Ms. Jarnot in a skeptic voice, completely refusing to acknowledge the fact that Dean had answered her in perfect French something which not all of the students in the room were capable of doing. In fact, some of them were confused because they did not know what Dean had said to their teacher even though they were in AP French. Ms. Jarnot walked down the aisle standing right in front of Dean which made him squirm uncomfortably. He never liked it when people invaded his personal space. "Well then, Dean if you were paying attention answer me this. Ça vous dirait de regarder un film ce soir?" Ms. Jarnot asked in a superior tone, her mannerisms making it obvious that she didn't think that Dean had understood her.

"Non, ça me dit rien. C'est pas terrible, ce film." Replied Dean without missing a beat.

Ms. Jarnot blinked furiously in surprise. It wasn't the first time Dean had surprised her in the classroom and it probably wasn't going to be the last, because she seemed to have short term memory loss of his abilities when it came to him. Instead of saying 'good job' or 'perhaps I was wrong, I guess you were paying attention', all Ms. Jarnot said to Dean in a nasty voice was, "see me after class." And turning on her heel, she marched straight back to the front of the classroom and resumed her lesson.

Dean sighed and turned back to the window. He wasn't going to argue with her, it was futile. He would probably receive detention for this even though he did nothing wrong. It's going to be a long senior year, he thought as he watched a pair of squirrels chase each other around.

* * *

><p>Seth rushed into the gym not wanting to be late especially during his first week of school. Also, Coach was teaching this period and if he was late to his class. Seth shuddered at what the consequences would be later in practice.<p>

"Hey Seth," nodded Roman as Seth hunkered down beside him beginning to stretch.

"Hey," answered Seth breathless from rushing around like a crazy person, "got lost again. I swear this school is a maze."

Roman nodded in agreement, "I know what you mean, yesterday, I got chewed out by Mr. Konnyu for being 30 seconds late to his class. '30 seconds of my valuable time being wasted!'"

Seth chuckled as Roman did a pretty good impression of the formidable Biology teacher. He was so glad that he wasn't the only new kid in school. He and Roman had met during training camp for football in August. Roman was a linebacker and he was a wide receiver. They both were used to moving as Roman was an army brat and Seth's dad was a big time consultant. However, they both had been bummed when they realized that they were moving again and in their senior year. But they had made the most of it and even though they had obviously missed spring training because they were both star athletes they had made the cut and Coach had both put them in as starters on the varsity team. In addition, their team members had made them feel welcome and part of the team and Roman and Seth had moved enough to know that that wasn't always the case. Usually fellow team members would feel miffed that the new guys had gotten a starting position. But Hunter, captain of the defense, and Randy, quarterback of the team, had taken them both under their wings and had proclaimed that they were going to show them the ropes so that their senior year would be the best one they ever had. Speak of the devil.

"Hey guys!" greeted Randy as he plopped down next to them. "So…party at my house. This Saturday, you guys in?"

"Is that even a question of course their coming?" interrupted Hunter as he joined their group. He turned to Roman and Seth, "Randy's parties are legend and we are going to make sure that this year they are more epic than ever! Of course that means that only the coolest people can come which includes you two!" finished Hunter with a smile and nudged Roman with his shoulder.

"So are you coming?" Randy asked again with a glare to Hunter for interrupting him.

"Yeah, sure, I see no conflicts," answered Seth kind of excited for this weekend. Roman, who Seth was beginning to know as a little bit more subdued than his fellow football players, just nodded a 'yes'.

"Great," exclaimed Hunter gleefully rubbing his hands together and proceeded to talk about possible plans for the party.

Seth glanced over at two girls who he knew were cheerleaders, Brittany and Cassidy, he was intending to also invite them to the party but instead he couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"No! I don't believe it! Are you sure?" asked Brittany in a dramatic voice.

"Well I'm not sure of what exactly he said but I'm sure it was something bad like a curse or something crude. You know?" said Cassidy

"Yeah, Ambrose is so weird. I mean look at him, he's talking to himself again," said Brittany. Seth followed the two girls' line of view and saw the guy 'Ambrose' he guessed they were talking about. He seemed to be a loner and was stretching in the far corner all by himself. Seth, however, wanted to correct them he wasn't talking to himself, he was singing, he recognized the song that Dean was mouthing "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. Good song, thought Seth amused as he watched Dean get himself pumped up as he sang the chorus under his breath.

"It's a shame though," said Cassidy, "he really is really cute. If he wasn't so weird I would date him." Cassidy and Brittany broke out into giggles.

Seth never got the chance to invite the girls to the party though because Coach had blown his whistle and demanded that everybody line up for exercises. After a brisk warm up, Coach declared that their first fitness test was today. All the girls groaned while most of the guys high-fived each other. "Both guys and girls will be tested on their sit-ups and push-ups today and guys will also be tested on pull-ups, girls you do not have to do them unless you feel the need to", barked Coach. "So let's get to it, sit-ups first, find a partner to hold your feet and count for you. I will be timing you to see how many each of you can do it a minute. And boys!" By 'boys' Coach meant his football players. "One of you better win each of these challenges otherwise the whole team will be doing suicides until nightfall!" As everyone scrambled to find a partner, Seth realized that here was his chance to make some new friends outside of football. So, instead of teaming with Roman, he walked over to Dean who was lounging on the gym floor making no effort to team up with anyone and introduced himself.

"Hey, I'm Seth. I'm new here this year. Do you want to be partners?"

Dean looked up at him curiously and shrugged, "Yeah, fine. You want to go first?"

"Sure!" Exclaimed Seth. He always loved these fitness challenges. He was competitive and he was interested to see if he could beat Hunter, Randy and Roman. That would give him ultimate bragging rights for the year. He got into position as Dean held his feet steady and both waited for coach to blow the whistle. As soon as Seth heard the whistle he took off trying as hard as he could to do as many sit-ups as possible in a minute. He thought he had done well when the minute was up. "How many was that?", he asked Dean.

"56", replied Dean.

"Nice! Beat that!", said Seth proud of his performance. "Hey, Coach, 56 for me," yelled Seth across the gym. Coach nodded in acknowledgement and wrote it down on his notepad. "Roman! How many for you?", asked Seth eager to see if he had beaten his friend.

"57!" answered Roman with a grin. "And Hunter got 59, sorry Seth you lost this one."

"Damn it!" muttered Seth under his breath he had really wanted to win. He glanced over at Dean who was quiet and looking up at the ceiling. Seth felt guilty, he had been showing off. He should be trying to make new friends not trying to one up his football buddies. It looked like Dean was in pretty good shape but Seth hoped that he hadn't intimidated the other guy by his performance. "So, I didn't catch your name dude?" asked Seth trying to make conversation.

Dean looked over at Seth and raised one eyebrow, "That's because I didn't give it. But if you must know, it's Dean", he said in a raspy voice.

Seth raised both hands. "Just trying to be friendly."

"Well no one asked you to," shot back Dean. "Let's just get these stupid tests over with."

Well isn't he a breath of fresh air, thought Seth, sarcastically to himself as he grabbed Dean's feet and started to count as Coach blew the whistle for the second round. Immediately, Dean shot up and began, Seth was impressed by his form and quickness but thought that he couldn't last the whole minute with his pace. But he was wrong. Dean kept going like an energizer bunny and Seth kept counting, eyes growing wide with each passing second. By the time the whistle sounded, Dean had done 70 sit-ups in 1 minute.

"Wow! Dude that was amazing!" shouted Seth raising up his hand for a high five.

Again Dean looked at him quizzically but he grudgingly returned it.

Perhaps I will make a friend out of him yet, thought Seth to himself. What Seth did not notice was the burning glare that Hunter and Randy were giving Dean as they learned that he had showed up all of the football players.

"I guess we will be doing suicides boys!" declared Coach with a grin. "All right time for push-ups."

"I'm gonna beat you on this Dean, push-ups are my thing," boasted Seth as he got into position and Dean put his fist down on the ground to make sure that Seth went all the way down.

"Yeah, we will see about that," returned Dean playfully warming up to Seth.

The whistle sounded and again Seth thought he did pretty well after the minute was up.

"54, good job," said Dean as they switched positions. Seth was happy to learn that none of the other guys had come close to his score. Perhaps I will win this round, thought Seth happily to himself as Dean started with his push-ups. However, he was sorely mistaken. Again, Dean's quickness and strength was surprising to Seth and after only one minute, he had completed 73 push-ups.

Seth was really impressed with Dean and couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't on the football team. He was obviously powerful and at 6'4" he was as tall as Roman. He would be a great linebacker too, thought Seth, perhaps he would ask when he got to know Dean a little bit better.

"Boys, this is embarrassing! Ambrose is beating all of you soundly. Perhaps we will do suicides all of this week until nightfall since it seems that none of you are conditioned well enough!" barked Coach as all of the boys in class headed to the pull-up bar for the third test. Seth grinned, he wasn't bothered by Coach's yelling, he was just blowing air and Dean was proving himself to be a great athlete. He would just have to work harder to get better it would seem. He looked over at Roman who also looked impressed by Dean's showing, however he again missed most of the dirty looks thrown Dean's way by most of the other guys on the football team.

As they headed over, Hunter roughly bumped into Dean's shoulder and growled, "Freak!" under his breath but only so loudly that only Dean and Seth caught what was said. Dean just ignored it, while Seth frowned disapprovingly at Hunter. He hoped that Hunter was just frustrated rather than being a bully. He didn't know if he could be friends with someone who bullied other people.

The third test started with varying degrees of success until it was only Dean left and the highest score so far was 50 which was Hunter's score.

"All right Dean let's see what you can do," said coach gruffly while Hunter scoffed.

Dean unassumingly walked up to the bar and started as Coach blew the whistle and just like the first two tests his form was impressive and his speed in which he performed the exercise was unstoppable. In fact, Dean looked barely winded after a minute and he had blown away Hunter's score with his own of 68. The gym was so quiet after Dean was done and walked away towards the locker room. Everyone seemed to be in shock for several seconds until the bell broke the spell and moved everyone towards their lockers as well in order to get to their next class on time.


	2. Chapter 2

Break Free

"Ro, wasn't that impressive!" exclaimed Seth as they moved quickly towards their next class. Although they didn't have their next class together, their respective classrooms were across the hall from each other.

"Yeah it was. Ambrose sure has great stamina," agreed Roman. "Although I wonder what is up with him and Hunter? I've never seen Hunter act that way towards anyone else."

"Dean."

"What?", asked Roman.

"Dean," repeated Seth, "I think he prefers to be called Dean. At least that's how he introduced himself to me."

"Well, if that's the case, why does everyone call him Ambrose?" questioned Roman.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Roman, did it look like anyone who was calling him Ambrose was actually his friend?"

"Well…no" admitted Roman, "but that's what he seems to go by," he finished lamely knowing that Seth had won.

"This is where we part ways," said Seth clapping Roman on the shoulder, "have fun brainiac because apparently you are too cool for Honors English. You just had to be in AP English." Teased Seth.

"It was the stupid aptitude test," mumbled Roman, "I just happened to know all the books that were on the test. I don't belong in that class." Oh how Roman wished he actually could join Seth in Honors English or better yet good ol' regular English. Roman was not lying when he said that he had gotten extremely lucky on the aptitude test, but when he had tested into AP English his parents had been so proud of him that they had insisted that he take the class even though it was optional. Something about how it was their duty as parents to make sure that they were pushing him to reach his full potential.

"Sure," quipped Seth unaware of his friend's discomfort. "See ya later big guy," and with a wave he disappeared into Mrs. Collins Honors English class while Roman was left with the only option of reluctantly heading into Mr. Zimmerman's AP English class. He was feeling even more nervous about this class than usual because he had not finished the reading for this class. In fact, if Roman was being totally honest he had barely read anything of the first 25 pages of _Antigone_ that were assigned for today.

As Roman plopped heavily into his desk, he realized that Dean was sitting a few desks down from him. Roman felt bad that he had not noticed Dean was in his class before but then reminded himself that he had never remembered him speaking or participating at all in class so perhaps it was understandable that he had been ignorant about Dean's existence.

"Hey," said Roman to Dean trying to get his attention. Dean either ignored or didn't hear him, so he chucked one of his erasers at his chest. Startled, Dean looked up and narrowed his eyes when he figured out that it was Roman who had thrown it. Roman was taken aback by Dean's hostility but decided he started this conversation he might as well forge ahead. "Hey…just wanted to say that was cool what you did in gym today," he said with a smile.

Dean's expression changed slightly from outright hostility to confusion, "Oh." Was all Dean said and by that time Mr. Zimmerman had started the class with a proclamation that there was to be a pop quiz.

Roman groaned. This was not turning out to be a good day for him. The quiz was timed for ten minutes, which gave Roman plenty of time to feel like an even bigger idiot. He knew absolutely none of the answers and after a few questions simply gave up. Mr. Zimmerman gave him a look as he turned in his quiz but Roman was grateful that his teacher elected to say nothing on the matter for the time being.

Instead, Mr. Zimmerman launched into his lecture with gusto. He went into detail about Greek tragedy and how _Antigone_ was the last of three plays but was actually written first.

The lecture was good and as Roman was struggling to write down every word Mr. Zimmerman said he couldn't help but be fascinated by the subject matter. He just hoped that Mr. Zimmerman would keep talking and not call on him because he wouldn't be able to answer anything about the content of the play.

However, today the odds were most definitely not in Roman's favor.

"So, Mr. Reigns…", Roman froze in terror as his teacher addressed him. "What is Antigone's main problem as she explains it in the opening of the play?"

"Ah….um…um," Roman tried to wrack his brain but he had nothing.

"Um, is not an answer, Mr. Reigns," said Mr. Zimmerman as he fixed Roman with a hard glare.

Roman wanted to die. Everybody in the class was looking at him, some girls started to snicker at his predicament. I don't know! He wanted to shout at his teacher. Are you happy? I don't know. Thanks for rubbing it in and letting the entire world know about how much of a failure I am. But Roman didn't say anything; instead he just stared hard at his notebook, wishing that the floor would just open up and swallow him whole.

"Ahhh, Mr. Zimmerman?" Everyone turned their attention from Roman to Dean as their ever-silent classmate had finally graced them with his voice.

"Yes, Mr. Ambrose," replied Mr. Zimmerman who was actually the only one in the room who didn't look surprised that Dean had spoken.

"I believe the answer you are looking for is that Antigone has two bros. Right? One is Eteocles and the other is Polyneices. This play is taking place right after Thebes' civil war and the two bros were on two different sides. Unfortunately for Antigone both of them are dead, so the one who was on the winning side, which was Eteocles, will be honored and buried. Hurray!", said Dean with mock enthusiasm. "While, the poor schmuck, Polyneices, will be left on the battlefield, not buried, where the birds can come and pick out his eyes and shit like that," shuddered Dean.

"Language! Mr. Ambrose," shouted Mr. Zimmerman, "Watch your language that is a warning!"

"Sorry, sir, my apologies," responded Dean although he didn't look contrite in the least. "So…what's a girl to do? She loves both of her brothers and wants them both to be buried. So, she says that she is going to go against Creon's edict and bury Polyneices anyway," finished Dean.

"Right," said Mr. Zimmerman nodding in slight approval of Dean's explanation. And to Roman's relief, Mr. Zimmerman didn't return his line of questioning to him but went off on another tangent.

Roman was so desperate to get out of this class that right when the bell went off about twenty minutes later, he leapt out of his seat and practically ran to his locker.

And it was only when he was heading to the football locker rooms to get dressed for practice that Roman realized he had never thanked Dean for getting him out of that bind. Oh well, thought Roman, there's always tomorrow.

* * *

><p>As Dean threw his books into his black bookbag, he reflected upon the unusualness of his day. Not one but two people had talked to him today. Granted they were new, but still he would have thought that Hunter would have warned them off him by now. Shrugging, Dean closed his locker and headed out the door.<p>

It was a nice, warm end of summer day. Dean sighed contently as he finally could feel and smell the fresh air. Dean was in his own world, singing softly to himself, that he didn't notice he was being followed until Dave and Kane were upon him.

"Heyyy…buddy," said Kane maliciously as he gripped tightly onto one arm of Dean while Dave held the other. "Hunter would like a word with you."

"Ahhh, the great king has summoned me to court!" exclaimed Dean in mock surprise.

"Tell him thanks but no thanks," shot back Dean to Kane as he began to struggle out of his and Dave's holds. However, he stopped once Randy stepped up to them followed by his entire posse.

"I'm afraid we must insist," growled Randy in his deadly voice. Dean growled back at Randy refusing to be intimidated even though he was way outnumbered.

"And what if I don't?"

Randy smiled sickly, "Well we could always go back to torturing our previous victims from freshmen year. Now what were their names again?" Randy snapped his fingers trying to make a show out of remembering. "Oh yes there was Ricky, Heath and Phil. Yeah, Phil was by far my favorite, he would always cry," Randy smirked at Dean.

"Enough," hissed Dean angry with Randy and his twisted mind, "I get the picture. Let's go, lead the way, your majesty!" Randy just smirked again in response but eventually turned around and headed towards what most students called 'the spot' which was where Hunter and his gang liked to intimidate, meet, party, plan and overall cause trouble away from the prying eyes of teachers and parents.

The whole way there Dean was roughly handled by Dave and Kane who seemed to take perverse pleasure in making him trip, throwing him into the occasional object, kicking him and overall doing whatever it took to hurt him. Needless to say, Dean was winded, bruised and hurting by the time he was brought into the lion's den.

Hunter and him had entered into this arrangement back in freshmen year when he had witnessed Hunter and Randy beating mercilessly into Phil who at the time was a scrawny kid who had no chance of defending himself. While Phil and Dean were never friends, Dean had always felt the need to stand up for those who couldn't do it themselves and so had found himself in a bit of a situation.

Hunter, intrigued by Dean's fierceness and his refusal to be cowed by Hunter, proposed a deal. Dean, in place of everybody else, would be the only person to get physically and emotionally picked on. Dean could not tell anybody or the deal was null and void. Dean also could not have any friends. However Dean was allowed to defend himself, but after Dean had won his one on one fight with Hunter, they always made sure to attack him in large groups never one on one.

"Ambrose," said Hunter smoothly as Dean was shoved towards him.

Dean, for his part, remained composed and took a minute to adjust his jacket before acknowledging Hunter's presence, "Hunter."

"How was your summer," began Hunter obviously trying to lull Dean into a false sense of security.

"Pleasant," replied Dean, "every day without having to gaze upon your ugly ass face is a day worthy of celebration." Dean had more insults up his sleeve but was stopped short by Dave's fist plunging into his stomach.

"Cute, Ambrose," remarked Hunter. "I've missed you."

"Yeah, well, the feeling isn't mutual," muttered Dean straightening up to face Hunter trying his best to ignore the pain in his ribs. "What do you want?" Dean was suddenly feeling really tired and just wanted to go home.

"Couldn't help but notice how chummy you were being with Seth in gym," said Hunter seemingly nonchalantly but his eyes blazed with anger at the thought of Dean getting a few moments of happiness.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Hunter," said Dean raising his eyebrows in mock alarm.

Hunter just smiled at Dean's attempt to get his ire up. "You know the rules, Ambrose. No friends. No attachments. Just you and your pitiful self."

"I am very much aware of the rules thank you very much," spit back Dean. "You know your threats are getting really old, Hunter."

"Are they? Well perhaps we should do something to spice it up then," said Hunter with a sadistic smile, "I think you are due for a world class beat down, Ambrose. I haven't seen you writhing in pain for some time now that I think about it."

"Well then let's go tough guy," barked Dean feeling his blood boil, "right here right now. After all, it's been a while since I've broken your nose!"

Hunter chuckled darkly as he got in Dean's face and patted him a couple of times on the cheek before Dean swatted his hand roughly away.

"I didn't mean now Ambrose. We've got practice. But don't you worry. We'll be coming for you soon. But that shouldn't matter to you, right? You're always ready. Any time any place."

"As long as you keep your end of the bargain and stay away from everyone else," said Dean in a low voice.

"Then keep yours too," shot back Hunter.

"I was!" shouted Dean getting a little ticked off. "The little brat came up to me, trying to be all friendly and nice. Why don't you get a handle on that after all he's one of your boys right?"

"Mind your own business," snarled Hunter and with a push dismissed Dean and nodded to his fellow buddies. If they didn't get to the practice field soon, Coach was going to be pissed.

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	3. Chapter 3

Break Free

Dean winced as he opened the door to the small cottage and collapsed onto his bed. After a few minutes of just lying down prone on the bed, Dean began to mentally take inventory of his injuries. His ribs were killing him but none of them were broken probably just a tad bruised. He had a couple of bruises on his arms and knees, a few superficial cuts but nothing serious.

That would come later, Dean thought to himself. Hunter is just getting started; this was just a pre-game, a show of power in the beginning of the year to remind Dean of his place in the pecking order. Dean groaned loudly, he knew he needed to wrap his ribs, make dinner, do some homework plus it was also laundry night. Thank God, I don't have work tonight, thought Dean.

Dean had never regretted running away from his foster home when he was fourteen. Granted, it had been tough living on the run for about a month, but when he had stumbled onto Jeb's property half-dead, Dean felt that was when he had been given a new lease on life. Jeb had taken him in, helped him get a job, and enrolled him in school under the pretense that Dean was his grandson. Dean had felt on top of the world then and for the next few months his life had been almost perfect until Jeb had collapsed due to a heart attack.

Dean had been about to call the police to report Jeb's death when he noticed in Jeb's desk, his last will and testament, which was very simple. He wanted to be buried on his property and for Dean to inherit his house and property. Wasting no time, Dean buried Jeb on the hill with great reverence and care. However, Dean was left in a pickle, if he reported Jeb's death and the system realized that not only was Dean not Jeb's grandson but he was also a runaway, Dean was sure that he would be put back into the system.

So, to avoid that Dean carried on as if Jeb was still alive and well. And so far Dean had gotten away with it. Of course it helped that for the last ten years Jeb had been a recluse and had seldom gone into town and had no friends to speak of at least none that he had mentioned to Dean. Plus, Jeb's cottage was situated on the very outskirts of town, no neighbors for miles around, surrounded by forest. So, for about the past three years, Dean had gotten away with living on his own and it suited him. He had already been caring for and looking out for himself in the system but now he was free.

However, Dean would be lying if he didn't admit that sometimes he wished that he had a regular family or at least some people in his life that cared if something were to happen to him. It was exhausting having to constantly look out and defend yourself with no one around to support you.

He didn't really want to move from his bed but he needed to. That's when he felt something warm and slimy lick his face. Dean opened his eyes and smiled, "Hey boy, did you miss me today?"

Judah, a full grown husky with one brown and one blue eye, who Dean had saved from a horrid pet store owner who had been about to drown the poor puppy because of his mismatched eyes, cocked his head at Dean as if to say, of course I did you idiot. And then proceeded to lick his face furiously.

"Judah!" laughing Dean pulled himself off the bed, his pain forgotten momentarily, and began to wrestle playfully with Judah. Both of them, boy and dog seemed to need this and they went at it for a while until Dean's stomach began to grumble.

"You hungry, boy? I know I am," said Dean getting up and looking in the refrigerator. Judah barked lightly in agreement and wagged his tail in anticipation.

Dean tossed some hotdogs on the counter along with a bag of peas. Then he rinsed out and refilled Judah's water dish and gave him a nice scoop of food in his other one. Dean turned to the stove and began to boil four hotdogs while he tossed the peas in the microwave (the packaging allowed them to be steamed in the microwave).

While waiting for his meal to be cooked, Dean went to his closet and sorted his dirty clothes putting each pile into a different bag and then shoved all of those bags into his one big duffel bag he used for laundry day. Then, after making sure he had enough quarters and laundry detergent he placed the laundry by the door so it would be ready to go.

Heading back into the tiny kitchen, Dean saw that he had timed it perfectly. The peas were done and the hotdogs were just about there. Laughing at Judah's expression who was sitting on the floor right beside the stove, staring up longingly at the pot, Dean said, "Don't worry Judah, I made four so you can have half of one."

At Dean's words, Judah's ears perked up and he gave a happy bark as he went back to his food, satisfied for now knowing that Dean would give him some of the hotdogs. Dean grabbed a plate from one of the cupboards above his head and dumped a generous portion of peas onto his plate after tearing the package open with his teeth. He turned the burner off and then fished out his four hotdogs. Opening up the refrigerator again, Dean got out both the ketchup and mustard and squirted equal amounts onto his hotdogs.

Then Dean brought his meal to the small card table that served as a desk and a dining table along with a big glass of water and the first aid kit. Tossing half of a hotdog to Judah to keep him occupied, Dean gingerly took his shirt off and proceeded to wrap his ribs. He did the best job that he could, but Dean didn't really feel all that better. He decided he needed to take some aspirin. Dean tried to avoid even over the counter medication whenever he could, he had made a promise to himself long ago that he would never be dependent on any sort of stimulant or drug whatsoever. But right now, Dean was really hurting and he still had to walk the five miles there and back to the laundromat, while lugging his laundry along as well.

Dean sighed and put his head over his crossed arms on the table. It was in times like these when he really wished he had a car.

Judah, sensing Dean's pain, quietly padded over and whining softly laid his head gently on Dean's lap in order to comfort him. Dean twisted his head to look at Judah and rubbed him right behind the ears. "It's just you and me boy," Dean whispered to Judah, "you and me against the world."

* * *

><p>Seth felt great as he changed out of his football gear. Practice had gone really well for him and even though Coach had kept his threat and made the whole team do suicides until nightfall, Seth was actually grateful for the extra conditioning. Although he couldn't speak for everyone on the team.<p>

"I'm gonna kill Ambrose!" yelled Kane in frustration as he collapsed near his locker. Kane was a big guy, a great offensive tackle, but he had problems with his stamina and hated running. Seth was also convinced that he had some anger issues and perhaps needed counseling, although he wasn't about to suggest that.

"Calm down, big guy," said Seth lightheartedly. "It's over, we survived and now we can go home and chillax."

"That's easy for you to say," grumbled Roman next to him, "I've got a shit ton of homework to do tonight and I have no idea how it is going to get all done. Plus I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open."

Seth looked over at Roman. He had noticed lately that Roman was not looking like he was getting enough sleep. "Yeah, Ro, you got some impressive bags under your eyes. You should probably get to bed a littler sooner. Don't want you falling asleep during the game on Friday night," chuckled Seth as the image of Roman asleep on the football field came to his mind.

"I would if I could! But this stupid AP English class is so hard!" Roman shouted as he slammed his locker shut with enough force that everyone in the locker room turned towards him. Roman, realizing that his overreaction caught the attention of everybody in the locker room flushed red in embarrassment.

"Hey man, it's okay," said Seth, as the rest of the locker room turned back to whatever it is that they were doing, quietly trying to support his friend. "AP English is supposed to be hard, but you'll get it. Why don't you get a tutor? I have one for Spanish and Math."

"I don't think there is one for AP English," said Roman dejectedly sitting down on the bench beside his locker.

"Well you should at least broach the subject with your teacher. Maybe if he knows that you want to get better, he will find you one or give you extra help himself," suggested Seth.

"I guess," muttered Roman not thrilled with the idea of spending even more time in Mr. Zimmerman's presence, but he knew that Seth had a point and he figured he might as well try.

"Hey guys," greeted Hunter as he came up to them.

"Hey" returned Seth as Roman, still lost in his own thoughts, just nodded back to Hunter.

"Great hustle today Roman," Hunter said encouragingly as he patted Roman on the back and then turned towards Seth, "Can we talk?"

"Sure," said Seth curiously as Hunter waved him over to one of the corners of the locker room. "What's up?" he asked when him and Hunter got out of earshot of everybody else.

"So, I should have warned you before," began Hunter, "Ambrose, is a real nutjob, a loose cannon as it were. He might seem a little friendly at first but trust me there is a reason why everyone doesn't talk to him. Now don't get me wrong, I want to think the best of everybody, but Ambrose is legitimately crazy. I heard he pulled a knife on a teacher once. I actually can't believe that he is still allowed in school and not in juvenile detention or an insane asylum."

Out of all the things that Seth had expected for Hunter to talk with him about, this was certainly not one of them. "What?" Seth was confused he had met some dangerous people before, but Dean had not struck him as one. "Are you sure it's not just all rumors?", asked Seth, knowing that his fellow high schoolers could sometimes blow things way out of proportion.

"I'm sure," said Hunter in a serious tone.

Seth was not convinced. At his previous high school, he had been ostracized just because he bleached one side of his hair. He knew that kids in high school could be extremely cruel. Even if what Hunter said about Dean was true, perhaps there were reasons for why he was lashing out. And, Seth reasoned, that whatever Dean did to earn the disdain of most of the high school it couldn't be that bad otherwise the administration would never have let him attend school in the first place.

"Look Seth," said Hunter a little more forcefully. "I am not going to tell you what to do, but hanging out with Ambrose could seriously damage your reputation."

Now alarm bells were ringing off in Seth's head. Something was up. He remembered the way in which Hunter had glared at Dean and rammed his shoulder into him and how Dean had calmly ignored him. Dean's actions were mature, thought Seth, not the actions of a violent teen.

"Look, Hunter. I don't know what's up with you and Dean, but I think you need to get over it. From what I can tell, he seems like a decent guy and I am not about to go around slandering a guy that I literally know nothing about."

"My word should be enough," growled Hunter.

Seth took a step back and looked into the pissed off face of Hunter. From what Seth could tell, Hunter was not a guy who looked that he was used to people telling him 'no'. Seth and Hunter stared at each other, eyeing one another up. Seth finally broke the silence.

"Unless Dean gives me a reason, I think I am going to be friends with him," asserted Seth stepping up into Hunter's face, "since he seems to have none." With that, Seth strutted back to his locker; annoyed on learning that Hunter was actually turning out to be a real jerk.

* * *

><p>"Is he going to be a problem?" asked Randy under his breath as he walked up to Hunter and nodded in Seth's direction.<p>

"Maybe," Hunter sighed, why couldn't this be easy? "The real test will be after the game on Friday when we run Ambrose through the gauntlet."

Randy smiled sadistically, as he thought of all the ways that they were going to hurt Dean. He secretly enjoyed hurting people, he especially loved hurting Dean because he always tried to fight back and that's what made it so fun.

"Well, if they won't fall in line, we'll just take them out of the equation," said Randy with a twisted smile. Although Seth and Roman were great football players, if they weren't going to obey their leaders then they were expendable, as far as Randy was concerned.

**Thanks for reading :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Break Free

**Happy Halloween! Enjoy ;)**

"Are you sure that's what he meant, Seth?" asked Roman dubiously as he drove Seth to his house. The two of them were constantly carpooling, since they lived relatively close to each other and both needed to stay after school for either practice or a game. Seth had just got done relaying to Roman his conversation with Hunter in the locker room.

"Positive!" declared Seth, who was still a little pissed that Hunter had tried to bully him into thinking the worst of Dean. "What other possible meaning could 'hanging out with Ambrose could seriously damage your reputation', other than I basically forbid you to associate with him," said Seth, dropping his voice really low, in a mockery of Hunter's voice.

"Look, Seth," sighed Roman, not really having the energy to argue with his passionate friend, "we are new to the area. I mean who knows what Dean did to Hunter and others over the course of the past three years. It sounds like there definitely is some bad blood between the two."

"But…"

"For my part, I am more inclined to believe the guy I've gotten to know over the past month versus the guy who besides glaring at me has only said, 'oh'," said Roman although he added in his mind, Dean did save me from further embarrassment in English class, but that would only complicate his argument so he left it out for now. "Sure, Hunter could have probably gone about discussing it with you in a different way but since when has Hunter been known for his tact."

Seth shrugged. He wanted to say that it was his instincts that made him think that something was off with Hunter. But he was certain that Roman would just scoff at him in disbelief. Plus he was dead tired as well and at that moment they had reached his house anyway.

"Just think about what I said," finished Seth, "see ya, thanks man." Seth waved as Roman drove off.

* * *

><p>Next morning, Roman took a deep breath, as he entered Mr. Zimmerman's classroom, before school started in order to ask him about a tutor.<p>

"Mr. Zimmerman?" Roman asked shyly as his intense teacher looked up from his notes and scrutinized him closely as he took a big bite of his muffin. "I was wondering if there was a designated tutor for your class?" Roman hesitated, Mr. Zimmerman was still chewing and gestured for Roman to continue. "I want to do well in your class, but I think I need some extra help."

Mr. Zimmerman finally swallowed and cleared his throat. "There is no assigned tutor for this class since it is AP English, and, although, I appreciate the fact that you want to do well, Mr. Reigns, I have no time to give you extra attention."

Roman's heart sank as he heard his teacher's words and started to walk out of the room.

"Hold on, Mr. Reigns," Roman looked back as his teacher beckoned him back to his desk, "I've got an idea. Don't move!" Right after saying that, Mr. Zimmerman bolted out of his chair and ran into the hallway leaving a very confused Roman behind. Barely a minute had passed when Mr. Zimmerman returned dragging a puzzled Dean behind him.

"Dean, meet Roman. Roman, meet Dean," said Mr. Zimmerman as the two boys looked at each other and nodded in greeting.

"So, Dean, I will get right down to it," said Mr. Zimmerman as he sat down at his desk. "Roman, here, needs a tutor and, from what I can tell, you need a little bit more structure and responsibility in your life," stated Mr. Zimmerman bluntly. "Therefore, I am assigning you to be Mr. Reigns' tutor."

"So, I don't get a say in this," bristled Dean.

"No, you don't," said Mr. Zimmerman simply.

"But, sir, I do not have the time…"

"Quite frankly, I don't care, Dean," returned Mr. Zimmerman. "You do not participate in any school projects, volunteer work, extracurricular activities or sports. I am confident you can find time in your very busy schedule to meet with Roman and share with him your expertise," said Mr. Zimmerman sarcastically.

Roman started to feel even more uncomfortable as he witnessed this exchange. He knew he desperately needed a tutor but he didn't want to have to force anyone into it or worse have a teacher do it for him.

"Fine!" snapped Dean, turning on his heel as he began to march out of the classroom.

"Watch your tone, boy," yelled Mr. Zimmerman at Dean's retreating back. He then gestured for Roman to follow Dean. "You better set up a time with him now. And let me know if he's giving you a hard time about tutoring you. Good luck."

Roman nodded in thanks to his teacher and hustled out the door in order to catch Dean before he disappeared.

"Dean!" Roman said as he bolted into the hallway.

"What?!" Dean shouted as he whipped around and came face to face with Roman. Both boys glared at each other for a moment, one indignant the other frustrated. "When's your free period?" asked Dean suddenly.

Roman blinked quickly. He was surprised that Dean was actually talking to him.

"Fifth period."

"Meet me outside, by the big sycamore tree. Do you know where that is?" asked Dean.

"Yeah."

"Good. Bring your books." With that, Dean headed off towards the east stairwell. Roman stood in the hallway, kind of in shock; did he really just get Dean of all people to be his English tutor? The sound of the first bell stirred Roman from his thoughts and prompted him to start moving towards his first class of the day.

* * *

><p>Dean stretched out on his back under the sycamore tree and gazed up at the clouds. It was another beautiful September day and he was going to take advantage of it. It was fifth period and technically his time for lunch but Mr. Zimmerman's command this morning that he tutor Roman Reigns took away his only break of the day.<p>

Unlike most seniors, Dean didn't have a free period or two and he had to work for a living after school which is why he never participated in any extracurricular activities. Plus his deal with Hunter forbade friendships so there was really no point to even thinking about joining any sort of club. So this was the only time that he could tutor Roman, but he couldn't tell Mr. Zimmerman that who was under the impression that Dean was living with his alive grandfather who was supposed to provide for him.

Dean lightly rubbed his ribs that he had rewrapped this morning, they were sore but most of the pain had died down. Dean figured he had been lucky and the bruising was probably only minor which he was grateful for because he had work tonight and tomorrow and he couldn't afford any debilitating injuries.

Roman's late, thought Dean annoyed, he was practically forced into becoming the guy's tutor and the jerk couldn't even bother to show up. Dean sat up and pulled his slightly squashed lunch out of his bookbag. Today's lunch was four chicken breasts and a bag of carrots. Dean was ravenous, he was running low on food and since payday wasn't until next week, he was forced to skip breakfast this morning only allowing himself a couple cups of coffee to make it through the morning.

"Hey!" Dean turned his head as Roman came running up to him out of breath.

"Sorry…sorry," gasped Roman in between deep breaths. "I thought it was the other tree on the far side of the school but when I got there and you weren't there I realized it wasn't a sycamore tree," explained Roman as he hurriedly pulled out his books and sat down beside Dean.

Yeah, you idiot, that's why I specifically mentioned the sycamore tree and I did ask you if you knew where it was, thought Dean to himself but decided against voicing that. He figured Roman, under the influence of his football teammates, would hate him soon enough but he actually didn't want to give him a legitimate excuse to not like him.

"That's fine," mumbled Dean as he finished chewing and wiping his hands on his jeans, he took out his own notebook and pen just in case he needed it. "What do you need help with?" he asked Roman getting right down to it.

Roman looked across at him helplessly and shrugged his shoulders. "Everything," he finally said sounding unsure.

Dean huffed and rubbed one hand over his face trying to think. "Okay," he rasped, "what did you understand of the reading we had to do for today?"

"I sort of didn't get to it," admitted Roman looking sheepishly down at his book.

"Look, man, I'm not gonna give you the answers," began Dean irritated.

"I know that!" shouted Roman defensively.

Dean matched Roman's glare. If this Reigns' guy thought he could pass this class by bumming answers off of Dean then he was sorely mistaken. He had enough experiences in his life of people taking advantage of him and frankly he was sick and tired of it.

"I never wanted to take this class in the first place, but my parents made me," said Roman trying to explain himself, "I knew I wouldn't have enough time to do all of the work because of football but saying no to my dad is like trying to argue with a rock. He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer so now I'm stuck in this class feeling like a moron, because I'm dead tired trying to get all of my homework done but I can't because it is physically impossible," finished Roman sounding like he was at the end of his rope.

Dean was a little taken aback. He liked to think that he was a pretty good judge of character. Heck, he had Hunter and Randy pegged as sadistic bastards the moment he laid eyes on them. But Roman seemed nothing like them. In fact, now that he thought about it both he and Seth seemed like decent guys. He leaned back on the tree and took a few moments to study Roman before deciding that he was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Sorry," said Dean simply, "I shouldn't have said that. I'm just tired myself."

"I'm sorry that Mr. Zimmerman made you do this," Roman stated, calming down a bit, "I know you didn't want to."

"Don't worry about it," said Dean, "it wasn't your fault. Besides, helping you study will help me as well. It's a win, win. Truce?" Dean held out his hand, he didn't know why he was trying this hard but something about both Roman and Seth made him feel at ease. Plus, he felt bad for misjudging Roman. He hated it when people did that to him.

Roman took his hand, "Truce." He said with a grin at Dean which he returned in kind.

"Alright, let's get started then," said Dean his mind rapidly thinking of how in forty minutes he could help Roman get ready for their quiz later today. "Do you take notes during Mr. Zimmerman's class?"

"Yeah," said Roman holding up his notebook to show Dean.

"Good. Because, Mr. Zimmerman alternates his quizzes, yesterday it was solely on the reading, today it will be on his lecture from yesterday," explained Dean.

"How do you know this?" asked Roman puzzled.

"I've had him all four years," said Dean making a face, "luck of the draw I guess but good for you because I know every trick that he likes to pull especially on tests." Dean said as he looked over Roman's notes. "These are pretty good, but if you don't mind…" Dean gestured with his pen and looked at Roman for permission.

"Yeah, please, by all means go ahead," said Roman glad that Dean was actually invested in helping him. Dean began to make notes around Roman's notes, explaining something that Roman missed or explicitly drawing connections between ideas that Roman had thought were separate.

"Take a look at that," said Dean handing Roman's notebook back to him and stuffed some more chicken into his mouth.

Roman grew happier as he looked over Dean's notes, everything was starting to make sense to him and he realized that he remembered more of the lecture than he thought he did. He glanced at Dean's food and looked at him curiously.

"This is my lunch period," explained Dean with a full mouth.

"I'm sorry," apologized Roman again. Great! He thought to himself, now I feel even guiltier. Reaching into his own bag, he pulled out an apple and one of the many sandwiches that his mom had made him and tossed them to Dean. Roman's mom was always overpacking his lunch, convinced that Roman never got enough to eat. "Here, since I'm not paying you. The least I could do is share my food with you."

Dean looked surprised but stared at the food like it was manna from heaven. "I'll save this for later. Thanks," said Dean genuinely. Free dinner! Thought Dean with glee, perhaps this tutoring thing wasn't so bad after all.

The time passed quickly as Roman began to get the concept of Greek tragedy and Dean was starting to enjoy himself coming up with ways for Roman to grasp different concepts and got excited when Roman started to understand his explanations. Too soon, the bell rang. Both boys sprang up from the ground, grabbing their stuff.

"Well good luck, I'll see you in a bit" said Dean brushing the dirt off his jeans, "you should do well on the quiz today and tomorrow we'll focus more on the plot of _Antigone_."

"Sounds good, thanks again," said Roman as they parted ways when they got back into the school building.

* * *

><p>Dean felt great as he leaned all the way back on the static trapeze and hung on the bar from only the backs of his knees as his music mix of classic rock blasted from the studio speakers. After letting his back get a nice stretch, Dean reached up with his hands and grabbed onto the bar then let his legs swing over his head so that he could practice his tucks.<p>

Dean had just finished with his last trapeze class for the day at the Aerial Grand Studio where he worked for the past three and a half years. He taught all the beginner classes and had recently taken up one of Nancy's intermediate classes since she had become pregnant. In addition, Dean worked in the office for about ten hours a week doing everything and anything from accounting to filing. Dean loved trapeze, especially the flying trapeze although the aerial rope was a close second, in his mind it was the closest thing he would ever come to actually flying.

Right now, Dean was technically done with work but since it was Friday and his ribs felt okay he decided to practice a little for the fall show that the studio was putting on in about a month and a half.

"Dean!"

Dean gracefully got back into a sitting position on the trapeze as he gazed down at Kathy, his boss and owner of Aerial Grand. Kathy quickly shut off the music so Dean could hear her.

"So…I'm heading out for the night. Were you planning on practicing a bit more?" Kathy was a great boss, in Dean's opinion, she was fair, flexible and non-intrusive plus she paid him in cash.

"Yeah, if you don't mind…"

"No, not at all. Just remember to lock up and I wanted to ask you how your ribs were doing I noticed you were grabbing them a lot yesterday."

Well mostly non-intrusive, thought Dean wryly, but Kathy was a mom so he supposed it was part of her nature to notice those sort of things.

"I'm fine just tweaked them a bit."

"Un-huh," said Kathy not quite convinced, "just making sure, you know I worry about you sometimes Dean."

Dean gave her one of his biggest smiles, "You shouldn't Kathy, it will give you pre-mature wrinkles."

She laughed at the young man, "well I do so deal with it," she shot back playfully. "Ok…I'm going home and will leave you to it." Kathy waved goodbye as she turned the music back on for Dean and strode out the door.

Dean practiced for another solid hour. His solo routine on the flying trapeze was just about finished, he just needed to polish some transitions and seek Kathy's opinion on a couple moves but overall he was satisfied with it. After putting all the equipment away and making sure that all the lights were off, Dean headed out the door, pulling it shut behind him and locking it securely. He had just turned around when he felt a presence behind him. He didn't even have time to turn around when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and then nothing.

* * *

><p>Seth and Roman whooped and cheered along with the rest of their teammates as they celebrated in the locker room. They had won their first game of the season and it had been a home game, the crowd had been electrifying. Seth had gotten a touchdown and seven catches for 75 yards, while Roman had contributed to the defense with his two sacks. Simply put, both players had an amazing game.<p>

"What are we going to do tonight, Ro?" asked Seth who couldn't possibly think about going home now. His adrenaline was pumping and the night was young!

"I don't know," shrugged Roman who didn't want to go home either but wasn't sure what people usually did or went after a game.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," said Randy putting an arm around both guys. "We are going to party!"

"Whose house?" asked Seth.

"We're not going to anybody's house," scoffed Randy, "up by Wappinger Creek there's a spot where we usually hang out and drink. You guys are cool right?"

"Yeah, we're cool," said Seth quickly because it looked like Roman was about to object. Although he was still annoyed by Hunter, Randy or any other teammate had never given him to cause to dislike them. And Roman had a point the other day in the car. He didn't know Dean perhaps what Hunter said about him was true. That and the fact that Seth just really wanted to get buzzed tonight made him want to hang out.

"Great, you guys can follow me. Hurry up!" said Randy as he patted them both on the back and turned to grab his stuff. Roman gave Seth a look as they followed Randy out to the parking lot but Seth just ignored him. He hoped that Roman would not play the army brat right now and just drive them to the underage party in the woods.

"I can't believe you said yes," grumbled Roman as they got into his car out of earshot of Randy.

"Come on Roman! You only live once!" exclaimed Seth hoping it wouldn't take long to convince his friend to break the rules. "We're still the new guys around here, it's important to make friends."

Roman sighed, he secretly wanted to go as well and Seth's argument however weak was winning him over. "Fine but we can't stay too late," said Roman as he started the car and followed Randy's car towards their destination.

"Yes!" Seth shouted as he pumped his fist into the air with exuberance.

* * *

><p>Dean tried to calm his breathing down as consciousness flooded back into him. His hands were tightly bound behind him and he couldn't see because of the dark bag that was covering his head. He was lying on his side on the ground and figured it must be some part of the woods because he could feel the root of a tree digging into his side and the sounds of a fire crackling in the background. As he tried to shift to his knees, he heard muted voices coming closer. All of sudden, the bag covering his head was pulled off and he was met with Hunter's face.<p>

"Get him up," said Hunter sharply as he surveyed Dean with a malicious grin before turning back to the fire.

Dean blinked his eyes furiously and shook his head trying to focus on his surroundings, as three guys forced him to his feet and held him in place. He realized that he was surrounded by enemy faces and that most of the football team was present. He vaguely wondered if Roman or Seth were here as well. His heart sank though when he realized that everyone was drinking. He had only been beaten by Hunter and his gang when they were drunk once before and it had been the most brutal experience of his life. Dean gulped; this did not bode well for him.

"Ambrose, Ambrose, Ambrose," said Hunter mockingly as he took a swig of his beer, "What am I going to do with you? You always cause me a never ending stream of problems. And just when I think you are beaten down, you get right back up again and cause more."

Hunter paused as those words sunk in. Hunter was in his element. Dean had noticed that if Hunter loved anything better than beating people up it was beating people up in front of an audience.

"You know what you are, Ambrose?" asked Hunter getting right up in Dean's face. "You're a cockroach. A disgusting bug that no one gives a shit about." Hunter laughed as everyone else followed suit. Dean always tried to ignore them, he really did, but sometimes Hunter's words really did strike a blow and right now with everyone else laughing and humiliating him, Dean felt degraded. "I mean we could probably beat you up everyday and no one would notice. Or, actually more accurately, they wouldn't care," said Hunter as he flicked a beer cap at Dean's face.

Dean winced as the sharp edges of the cap caught his cheek and sliced it causing a trickle of blood to run down the side of his face.

"You wanna know what you are Hunter?" said Dean in a loud, strong voice determined to not let Hunter or any of these other bastards know how scared he was. "You're a coward. Who needs about what do you have…fifty guys? To beat one guy up? The same guy who when he faced him one on one beat his ass and broke his nose. Face it Hunter, I made you my bitch!" finished Dean with a smirk as silence settled over the entire group.

Hunter chuckled darkly and put his beer down. "That was a fluke, Ambrose," he said shrugging. "I lost my footing…things happen, and I didn't want to be greedy," Hunter stated glancing and gesturing around to all the guys that were present. "After all, I am part of a team and we share everything, the good and the bad, and that includes kicking your ass."

Dean swallowed nervously. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all.

"So let me clue you in on what's about to happen," sneered Hunter as he grabbed Dean's jaw and forced him to look straight at him. "You're gonna fight everybody on the team since you embarrassed us this Wednesday during gym. One minute for every guy," explained Hunter as he held up one finger. "And then, Ambrose, I'm gonna make you my bitch with that," promised Hunter darkly as he pointed towards the fire.

Dean followed Hunter's finger and his face froze with panic as he realized that there was a cattle brand sticking out of the fire.

Hunter grinned as he took in Dean's expression. Tonight, Ambrose is finally going to learn that you don't mess with me, thought Hunter triumphantly.

"Welcome to hell, Ambrose!" shouted Hunter as everyone watching cheered in anticipation. Dean hands were quickly untied and then he was suddenly shoved roughly to the ground and as he stood up, he realized that the crowd had made a perfect circle around him and the fire. There was no escape. Dave joined Dean in the middle of the circle and cracked his knuckles while grinning evilly at Dean. "Begin!" roared Hunter and Dean had no choice but to fight for his life.

* * *

><p>"Wow, we must be the last people to get here," said Seth as they parked behind Randy in the clearing. By Seth's count there must have been forty other cars at least.<p>

"It's a nice night, isn't it?" asked Randy as he joined them and beckoned both Roman and Seth to follow him. They walked only a short way until Seth saw a fire in the distance and the sound of cheering.

"What's that noise?" questioned Seth it sounded to him like there was fight going on.

"Our entertainment for the night," said Randy with a smile, "Come on you guys are going to love it. Oh and one more thing," said Randy stopping them both in their tracks, "I usually don't tell this to newbies but I really like you guys so… this night is sort of an initiation for you two."

Roman and Seth glanced at each other. They were not expecting this at all.

"Your key to a great senior year is to do whatever Hunter tells you to do tonight, ok?" Randy looked encouragingly at them both. "But don't worry you guys will do great. I have no doubts. Let's go!" Randy resumed walking and Roman and Seth cautiously followed him.

"What is this, fight club?" said Seth to Roman under his breath.

"I know, right, that was kind of weird," said Roman.

"They are probably just going to have us do something funny or weird," said Seth although he wasn't actually too sure. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was really wrong here.

"Let's hope," Roman muttered back to him.

Roman and Seth finally reached the other clearing along with Randy. What they saw shocked them both.

To Seth, it looked like something out of _Lord of the Flies_. The entire football team was there and cheering on a horrible spectacle. Dean was lying in the middle of the ring and from the looks of him and the bloody knuckles on a lot of the players, the 'fight' if one could call it that had been going on for a while. Right now, Titus, one of the defensive linemen, was kicking Dean viciously in the stomach and the back.

Dean looked like hell. His clothes were torn and bloody. His face was swollen, bruised and bleeding, and he looked like he lacked the strength to stand.

"What the hell is this!" yelled Seth as he tried to get to Dean but found himself being held back. Everyone stopped, as Seth's yell was heard loud and clear.

"Seth, Roman, welcome," said Hunter unfazed as he walked into the circle, the fire behind him making him appear, in Seth's eyes, like a demon.

Titus, apparently done, walked back among his peers as Dean was left on the ground.

Please don't be dead, Dean, pleaded Seth in his head and was relieved a tad when Dean stirred, coughed up a little bit of blood and groaned in pain.

"What the hell is this, Hunter," growled Seth as he struggled against the guys holding him.

"A demonstration of power, Seth," said Hunter brazenly as if he was talking about a fact of life, "see sometimes scum like Ambrose here," said Hunter as he put his foot on Dean's back who was trying to struggle to his feet, "get out of line and we are here to make sure that the status quo is kept," and as if to illustrate his point Hunter pressed down hard on Dean's back making him cry out in agony and collapse back down to the earth.

Seth simply shook in anger. His instincts had been correct, Hunter was a good for nothing douchebag.

"Let him go," demanded Roman in a dangerous voice.

"I don't think so, not just yet," said Hunter with an arrogant smirk, "you see you two need to prove your loyalty to the team. And I have just the idea with how you are going to do that." Hunter snapped his fingers and two guys walked over to Dean and forced him roughly to his knees. They then tore off his leather jacket and shirt and held him in place for Hunter.

Seth and Roman were brought closer and up close Seth could tell that the damage done to Dean was greater than he originally had thought.

"Here's what both of you are going to do," said Hunter as if he was explaining something to a small child, "One of you is going to hold him while the other gives him a permanent reminder to not mess with Evolution," said Hunter menacingly as he held up a red-hot cattle brand for Seth and Roman to see.

"You gotta be joking," breathed Seth, this had got to be some sick joke, no one was this cruel.

"I've never been more serious," sneered Hunter.

"Come on guys just do it," interjected Randy as Roman and Seth looked at him in surprise, "Ambrose is trash, he's always been and always will be white trailer trash. I mean look at him, the guy's a nobody."

Seth did look at Dean and was surprised to see that even though Dean had to be hurting, he still had some fire left in him. It was at that point that Seth realized that Dean was stronger than he would ever be. Seth and Roman looked at each other in silent agreement and nodded to each other.

"Fine, we'll do it," said Seth holding out his hand for the brand. Hunter grinned in amusement as he handed Seth the forbidding object and stepped back to watch. The two guys holding Dean backed off as Roman took their place.

"Get ready to run," Roman whispered to Dean as he put his arms around him seemingly in a hold. He felt Dean tense but then relax and nod slightly as he realized the plan.

Seth held up the brand and locked eyes with Roman. They silently counted, _one two three!_ On three, Seth acted quickly and swung the cattle brand towards the crowd in order to get them to disperse and make a hole. Roman grabbed several logs from the fire and threw them as well before giving Dean a hand and helping him run towards his car.

"Get back you assholes," snarled Seth as he continued to swing the cattle brand until Dean and Roman were clear from the ring and then helped Roman with Dean as they sprinted in the direction of their car. Their surprise attack worked and took everyone off guard long enough for the three of them to get a head start.

"Get them!" roared Hunter and Roman and Seth ran even faster as they heard a horde of angry football players pursuing them.

By some miracle, perhaps it was the fact that pretty much all of them were drunk, Seth, Roman and Dean made it to the car. Seth carried Dean into the back with him, as Roman threw himself into the driver's seat and started the car up.

"Go, go, go!" yelled Seth as he realized that they were almost upon them.

"I see them!" yelled Roman and threw caution to the wind as he backed his car out full speed and managed to get away from the drunken, angry and sadistic mob just in time.

**Let me know what you think so far?**


	5. Chapter 5

Break Free

"Everyone okay?!" shouted Roman as they sped away.

"I'm fine," said Seth as he crawled over to Dean who was curled up on the other side of the backseat of Roman's car, "but I can't say the same about Dean over here."

"M' fine," muttered Dean in a low and pained filled voice as he hunched over with both arms hugging his middle.

"No, you're not Dean," said Seth in as calm a voice as he could muster. He slowly pried Dean's arms away from his stomach so he could assess the damage. There were already tons of bruises and abrasions littering Dean's torso, Seth quickly took off his jacket and put it around Dean since he was shivering uncontrollably although Seth wasn't sure if it was just from the cold or that Dean was going into shock. Seth was very concerned. "Roman, get us to the hospital and step on it!"

"Forget it," gritted out Dean as he tried to sit up.

"Dean you need a hospital, you could be bleeding internally," said Seth trying to get Dean to understand the gravity of the situation.

"I'll be fine," repeated Dean as he tried to control his breathing, "I've had worse, I have a pretty good first aid kit at home. Just take me home."

"Dean," chimed in Roman from the front, "I don't think that's a good idea just let the doctors take a look at you."

"No!" said Dean more forcefully, "I said no," he collapsed back on the seat utterly spent, "I can't afford it."

"What do you mean? Your parents will pay for it. We should actually call them," said Seth as he reached in his back pocket for his phone. "What's their number?"

"I don't have any," mumbled Dean as he placed his forehead on the window next to him taking some small comfort in the coolness of the glass on his swollen face.

"Oh…well who takes care of you?" asked Seth thinking that explained why Dean was the perfect punching bag for Hunter and his gang, no parents to complain to the school.

"Just take me home, please," said Dean tiredly as he gazed at Seth trying to make him understand.

"Dean…I can't in good conscious…"

"I won't die on you. Trust me I want to live to see my 18th birthday as well," said Dean pleading with Seth.

Seth locked eyes with Roman who was glancing at them in the rear-view mirror; Roman shrugged at him as if to say perhaps they should just take Dean home. "Fine, we'll take you home," said Seth, "but if you lose consciousness, I don't care what you want we will take you to the hospital."

"Fair enough," said Dean with a small smile, "take the next right."

Dean gave Roman directions to his house and in about ten minutes, Roman was driving up the long never used driveway to Dean's cottage.

"This is where you live?" asked Seth as he gazed at the dark, tiny cabin where no one else seemed to be home.

"Yep," sighed Dean as he opened the door and tried to get out but failed. If it wasn't for Roman who was there to catch him, Dean would have fallen to the ground.

"Woah there big guy," grunted Roman as he supported Dean gently around his waist and placed one of Dean's arms over his neck while Seth scrambled out and got the other side of Dean.

"M' fine," whispered Dean barely inaudible as they slowly made their way to the door of the cabin.

"Sure you are buddy," said Seth rolling his eyes at Dean's stubbornness.

The trio made their way into the tiny cabin, stumbling slightly on the front steps and fumbling with the key as Dean motioned to Roman where the spare one was hiding. Roman, after a few tries, got the door open and flipped on the light switch as Seth helped Dean to his bed. Roman took in the small space and noted only one bed, a small card table besides one window, a small galley kitchen, a tiny but clean bathroom and a few closets were the extent of the house. After Seth gently deposited Dean on his bed, he looked around as well and turned back to Dean who was clearly in a lot of pain.

"You live alone, don't you?" asked Seth in disbelief, his growing suspicions confirmed by the terrified look that Dean gave him.

"Please don't tell anyone," said Dean in desperation to both Seth and Roman, "please…I…I can't go back to child services…I just can't."

"Relax, Dean," muttered Seth trying to sooth him, "we won't tell anyone for the time being. Right, Roman?"

Roman nodded slowly although he raised one eyebrow at Seth who mouthed at him 'we'll talk later'. All of a sudden, a blur came rushing through a flap in the door and Seth and Roman jumped back as a wolf leapt onto the bed and bared his teeth at them standing over Dean in a protective fashion. Seth and Roman took several careful steps back both nearly frozen in fear. The wolf then turned to Dean and licked his face a few times and perhaps not liking the sounds of pain coming from Dean faced Seth and Roman again and growled deep and menacingly.

"It's okay, Judah," muttered Dean softly caressing Judah's fur, "they're friends." Immediately, to Seth and Roman's surprise, Judah seemed to understand Dean and backed down and focused all of his attention on Dean alternating between licking his wounds and whining at Dean's state.

"Dean, why do you have a wolf as a pet?" asked Seth as he carefully stepped towards the bed.

Dean looked at Seth in amusement and let out a short laugh. "Judah's a husky not a wolf, Seth."

"Oh," said Seth letting out a sigh of relief, "well that makes a bit more sense." Roman also visibly relaxed beside him. "Where is your first aid kit, Dean?" asked Seth getting his bearings and focusing back on the task of making sure that Dean was alright.

"It's in the bathroom," said Dean pointing towards it as he continued to stroke Judah's fur with his other hand.

"Right, I'll get that," said Seth taking charge, "Roman why don't you find some washcloths or towels and warm water." Seth took a few steps to the bathroom and found the first aid kit easily but sighed as he opened it up and found the bare minimum. A few Band-Aids, antiseptic, peroxide and an Ace Bandage was all that was in it. Seth returned to Dean's bed bringing it with him.

"Dean this does not constitute 'a good first aid kit'," said Seth as he placed it on Dean's nightstand and tried to figure out where to start first.

Dean just shrugged and looked at Seth pointedly.

"I could get some stuff from my house," suggested Roman as he came back from the kitchen with a few small towels and a bowl full of warm water and handed it to Seth, "I could also grab some groceries from the store for you Dean, you're running low on food."

"Yeah that'd be a good idea," muttered Dean as he laid his head gingerly back on his pillow, "I won't be able to pay you back though Roman until this coming Friday."

Roman waved Dean's concerns away, "Don't worry about it, what do you want?"

"Soup and crackers," said Dean wincing as Seth began to clean his cuts.

"Okay," said Roman nodding, "anything else?"

Dean shook his head. Seth got up, looked in the freezer, pulled out a bag of vegetables and placed it on Dean's face in order to bring some of the swelling down. "Roman, if you have them you should bring some freezer packs and hot compresses, and some Icy Hot bandages if you have them," said Seth as he wrote down some more items that he thought Dean would need and handed them to Roman. Roman nodded back to Seth and walked out the door quickly with the promise that he would be back as soon as he could.

Seth sighed and got back to work caring for Dean who looked like he was about to pass out. "Don't go to sleep on me yet, Dean," said Seth who was worried about the possibility that he could have a serious concussion, "why don't you tell me something about yourself?"

"Like what?" asked Dean who was struggling to stay awake.

"Anything," said Seth trying to distract Dean, "like what's your favorite book? You have a lot of them by the way," said Seth taking in the books on the makeshift bookshelf, the card table, the windowsills and the piles surrounding Dean's bed.

"I like to read," said Dean with a shrug, "and I can't afford a TV so books it is."

"Yeah, it's good that you're Roman's tutor then," said Seth who was kind of surprised that someone like Dean enjoyed reading, "that must be hard though taking an AP class, I could never do it."

"They're fine," said Dean with a slight shrug.

"Wait, how many are you taking?" asked Seth.

"Besides gym, I actually take all AP classes this year," said Dean like it was no big deal. Seth looked at Dean in shock. He never thought that Dean was stupid but he also would never have guessed he was so intelligent. Dean laughed at Seth's expression.

"Close your mouth, Seth, or flies will get trapped in there," he chuckled.

"Is that why Hunter and his gang picks on you?" asked Seth as he motioned for Dean to turn over so he could look at his back.

"No," said Dean quietly as he turned over, "freshmen year I stood up to Hunter and Randy as they were picking on this kid, Phil, he was scrawny and couldn't defend himself. So, I stepped in and broke Hunter's nose. But that didn't stop them from continuing to pick on people and I couldn't be everywhere so I made a deal with them," explained Dean.

"What do you mean? What kind of deal?" asked Seth getting a bad feeling about this.

Dean sighed into his pillow and paused before continuing, "I let Hunter's gang, which is called Evolution by the way in case you were wondering," said Dean in a side note to Seth, "I let them hurt me and only me. I can sort of fight back but as you can see they use the numbers game on me to their advantage. I also can't have friends, Hunter wanted me isolated and alone, part of his mind games that he likes to play. And, lastly, I can't tell anyone in authority about the deal or about the fact that they are ganging up on me, or Evolution goes back to hurting anyone that they want."

"Dean that's terrible!" exclaimed Seth, "this has been going on since freshmen year?"

Dean nodded 'yes' in answer to Seth's question.

"Why did you do it?!" yelled Seth who although he admired Dean for his self-sacrifice he also wanted to hit him upside the head for making such an absurd deal.

"What was I supposed to do?!" yelled Dean back. "They were hurting people and no one was doing anything about it. I had to do something, Hunter and Randy also targeted girls not just guys, I can deal with the pain what I can't deal with is knowing that others are in pain and I can't do a damn thing about it." Dean yelped as Seth touched a particularly sore spot on his back.

"Shit! Sorry Dean, " apologized Seth quickly as he surveyed Dean's back in dismay. It was a mess; it looked like one big bruise with more than a few nasty gashes. "How did you get these cuts?"

"One guy, I can't remember who after a while they all blurred together," murmured Dean, "he broke a beer bottle and cut my back with it."

Seth trembled in rage as Dean told him. Evolution needed to be stopped. This cruelty towards Dean had gone on long enough. For the next hour, Seth meticulously cleaned Dean's wounds as best as they could as the two boys got to know a little bit more about each other. Seth told Dean how he also had been in the system as well and had been adopted by his father when he was ten years old, while, Dean shared with Seth some of his favorite books and his love of the aerial arts. Before long, Roman was back with a bounty of food and medical supplies.

"Your parents didn't question you?" asked Seth as he saw how much stuff Roman was able to bring from his house.

"No," said Roman, "I just told my mom I was sleeping over a friend's house and that some of the guys were sore from the game."

"Wait, you're staying over?" asked Dean sleepily from his bed.

"Of course we are," said Seth plopping down beside Dean and laying some ice bags on his sore torso, "after all who is going to wake you up every couple of hours to make sure you're still functioning?"

"No one ever did before and I came out alright in the end," said Dean under his breath.

"Well you're now stuck with us," said Seth as he propped Dean up with some more pillows that Roman had brought with him, "so you're gonna have to get used to it."

"Yep," agreed Roman as he went into Dean's kitchen in order to warm up some soup. "We've got your back Dean, just like you've got mine in English class."

Dean smiled as Seth continued to fuss over him and Roman brought him some delicious soup and his favorite Gatorade. Judah did not leave Dean's side but just lay right next to him on the bed not even moving when Roman filled his water and food dish. An hour later Dean was finally able to sleep as he had a decent meal in him, the pain had died down a tad and with Judah sleeping right by him and Seth and Roman there, Dean finally felt safe.

Seth, relieved that Dean seemed to be doing better, filled Roman in on the whole situation including 'the deal'. Roman, of course, was shocked and angry.

"This school is messed up," Roman said in a low voice to Seth so as not to wake Dean up.

"I agree," said Seth, "we are going to have to come up with a plan to beat Evolution."

"How? Hunter and Randy have the whole football team on their side," pointed out Roman as he glanced back at Dean who moaned and shifted on his bed but continued to sleep.

"I don't know," admitted Seth, "but between the three of us, we will come up with something. We have to for Dean's and everyone's sakes. The three of us will be the school's shield against Evolution."

**Please let me know what you think of the story so far.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Break Free

The smell of bacon awoke Dean as he slowly opened his eyes. He was relieved that he had slept so well despite the fact that either Seth or Roman had woke him up about three times during the night and had diligently checked his pupils with a flashlight.

A warm and comfortable weight settled on his chest and Dean looked up as Judah sensing that Dean was awake had moved his head from beside Dean to on his chest so that the loyal dog could assess for himself whether Dean was alright or not. Dean let out a soft laugh as Judah's eyes even though he was concerned about Dean kept shifting from him to the kitchen where the smell of bacon was coming from.

"I'm okay, boy," grunted Dean, "why don't you go check to make sure they aren't burning it." As soon as those words left Dean's mouth, Judah gracefully leapt from the bed to the floor and bounded into the tiny kitchen with his tongue hanging out of his mouth in anticipation. On his way into the kitchen, Judah almost collided with Seth who was carrying dishes in order to set the table.

"Woah!" exclaimed Seth as instinct alone made him dart out of the way quickly as he managed to hold onto what he was carrying. "Judah! You need to watch where you're going!" admonished Seth but he couldn't be too mad at Judah as the adorable husky just gave him a look of pure innocence and sat right next to Roman who was at the stove frying the bacon. Seth let out a breath and proceeded to set the card table for three when he noticed that Dean was struggling to sit up in his bed.

"Well, look who's up," said Seth as he walked over to Dean and checked his pupils one more time as Dean leaned against the headboard. With the haziness of sleep leaving him, Dean began to become more aware of the pain present throughout his whole body as he gritted his teeth. Seth noticed that and quickly gave him four pills and some water. Dean tried to weakly push it away.

"I don't need it."

"Yes you do," insisted Seth.

"I don't want to…" began Dean wearily.

"Dean!", said Seth loudly gaining Dean's full attention, "you are not going to get addicted to it, just take it at least for today." Dean sighed but finally took the medicine wondering how Seth had guessed correctly the reason for his apprehensiveness about the medication.

"Breakfast is ready," declared Roman as he brought out two pans, one filled with bacon the other with scrambled eggs and cheese. "Dean, is Judah allowed some bacon?" asked Roman as Judah was literally stalking Roman watching his every move.

"No," said Dean as he gingerly moved to sit at the edge of his bed, "but there should be some Beggin' Strips left for him on one of the top shelves in the kitchen." Roman nodded and turned to go get it as Judah happily bounded behind him, excited that he was getting a treat.

"Need some help," offered Seth as Dean was debating whether to try to stand on his own or not.

"Sure," said Dean after a moment's hesitation and grasped the hand that Seth gave him. Seth pulled him up but the sharp movement made Dean let out a cry as his ribs and back protested.

"Sorry," said Seth as Dean leaned heavily on him gasping for breath. The sudden cry from Dean both had Judah and Roman come running to see what was the matter.

"M' fine," breathed Dean as he collected himself and started to shuffle painfully towards the table.

"Okay," acknowledged Seth but he still hovered close behind Dean until he was seated safely in a chair at the table.

"This looks great Roman," said Dean gratefully as the two boys joined him at the table.

"Don't mention it," said Roman with a smile as he filled everyone's coffee cups.

"Do you take milk in your coffee, Dean?" asked Seth.

"Yeah, sure," said Dean holding out his mug, "thanks." Dean normally drank his coffee black but that was only because he considered milk a luxury and only got it every once in a while when he had some money to spare.

"Where did you guys sleep?" asked Dean a little embarrassed that they were still fussing over him.

"On the floor," said Seth with a mouth full of eggs.

"I brought some sleeping bags and pillows from home," explained Roman as Seth continued to dig into his breakfast with gusto, "it was fine, we slept well," he assured Dean.

"Cool," said Dean suddenly realizing how hungry he was and dug into his own food. For the next ten minutes, the boys fell into a companionable silence as they all enjoyed the food and coffee. When they were done, Seth gathered up the dishes shooing Dean away in his attempts to help clean up and made him go take a shower. Dean felt a little better now that the medicine was starting to kick in, he was fed and his muscles were relaxed from the hot water but he still felt pretty crappy. He slowly got himself dressed in his most comfortable sweatpants, shirt and a hoodie and laid back down on the bed. He was already exhausted again and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

The pitter patter of rain on the roof woke Dean up the second time. He glanced at the clock and was shocked that it was three o'clock in the afternoon. He was even more shocked when he turned over and realized that Seth and Roman were still there. They sat at the card table murmuring softly to each other as Seth occasionally wrote some stuff down on a piece of paper.

"You guys still here?" questioned Dean.

"Of course," responded Roman as him and Seth looked over to Dean. Dean didn't have the energy, but if he did he would have gone over and hugged Roman and Seth on the spot, no one had ever been this nice and considerate to him before.

"Thanks, watcha guys doing?" said Dean deciding to not move from his spot on the bed since he actually was quite comfortable for the time being.

"Making a battle plan," said Seth with a fire in his eyes.

"What?"

"A battle plan to take down Evolution. Got any ideas?"

"Loads," said Dean with a mischievous grin, "you guys ever watch _Home Alone_?"

Seth matched Dean's grin, "I like how you think Ambrose," he said as he went back to scribbling on the piece of paper.

"Dean. My name is Dean," said Dean a little bit more forcefully than he intended. Roman and Seth looked back at him in surprise at Dean's tone. "Everyone at school calls me Ambrose, but I hate it," muttered Dean as he looked down at his quilt a little embarrassed that he had freaked out over a name.

"I understand," said Seth shooting Roman a look that said 'I told you so', "Dean it is."

* * *

><p>The next day, Dean was able to move around a little better. Roman had to go home late last night but Seth had just called his Dad and got permission to stay over again.<p>

"What should we do today?" asked Seth as he and Dean cleaned up from breakfast.

"Don't you have homework to do or something," mumbled Dean as he poured himself another cup of coffee and sat back down on his bed. He had slept pretty much the whole day yesterday and today he figured he would just stay in, read and relax as much as possible. After all, he had a full week coming up and he knew he would need as much strength as he could get.

"Don't you?" shot back Seth as he joined Dean on the bed. Seth got okay grades in school but he was a terrible procrastinator and would put off homework and assignments until the last possible minute and right now he didn't feel like doing homework.

"No, I'm finished," said Dean simply as Seth looked at him incredulously.

"Bullshit! How could you be done? I've been with you since Friday night!"

Dean looked at Seth in amusement. "I tend to get my homework done in advance."

"How far in advance are we talking here?"

Dean shrugged, "well I've gotten all of September's assignments done already so I guess I'm in October," said Dean as he laughed at Seth's expression.

"How smart are you?" asked Seth with an awed look on his face.

Dean looked down at his coffee and muttered, "I'm not that smart" before taking a small sip not used to getting attention from people.

Seth clapped a hand on Dean's shoulder and changed the subject sensing that Dean was uncomfortable, "Well looks like we got time to plan some more then."

"What are you exactly planning?" asked Dean curiously who was still not privy to the details of 'Operation Payback' as Seth and Roman referred to it.

"Well Step One is to dethrone Hunter as the king of the school," said Seth as he handed his battle plan to Dean for him to look over. "And to do that we are going to need to break his hold over all his little minions."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Dean.

"Well for one if we publicly humiliate Hunter," explained Seth, "and demonstrate to others that we are not afraid of him that will get them thinking. I liked your idea regarding _Home Alone_ and I was thinking that perhaps on Monday we could rig their lockers with slime or perhaps molasses and feathers."

Dean smiled as he thought about that image, Hunter as a big chicken.

"I like it," he said as he handed the battle plan back to Seth.

"Thanks! Now here is what we're going to do…"

**Review please :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Break Free

Hunter was not having a good Monday. He growled in frustration as he struggled to open up his locker. Kane had broken his ankle while running after the three thorns in his side Friday night, so he was useless. Dave was out with the flu. Randy was nowhere to be found. Not to mention, the Friday night fiasco had left about half of the football team in doubt of him and Evolution. Most of the guys he ruled by fear and persuasion not loyalty, Hunter was not stupid, he knew his influence was precarious and that it wouldn't take much to lose the power he had created for himself over these past four years. Hunter smashed his fist into a nearby locker. If it wasn't for Ambrose, he thought bitterly, he would've had the whole school eating out of the palm of his hand by now.

Four years ago, Hunter had immediately recognized the threat of Dean Ambrose when the teen had showed up seemingly out of nowhere, supposedly crazy old Jeb's grandson, and had begun to challenge him. Thankfully, Ambrose had fell for Hunter's trap when he entered into the deal with him and besides a few incidents, Ambrose had been kept in check. But now it seemed like Dean's defiance was contagious, Hunter would have been lying if he said he was not surprised by both Seth and Roman's betrayal. Hunter clenched his fists in fury as he thought about that night. He had been so close to breaking Ambrose's spirit, he had felt it. But no! Seth and Roman had to go and mess it all up. Hunter angrily took off his sports leather jacket and threw it in his locker, Evolution needed to retaliate quickly but he couldn't do that if they were all down for the count.

Hunter's eyes narrowed as he spotted the bane of his existence at the other end of the hallway at his own locker. Dean looked a little worse for wear but not terribly so. At least not as terrible as Hunter wanted him looking. For all the trouble that punk had caused him, Hunter wanted to hurt him so bad that he would be permanently scarred. No, what Hunter truly wished was for Ambrose to fear him, to tremble at his approach just like everybody else did in this pathetic school. But as hard as Hunter had tried over these four years, Ambrose had never once looked at him in fear.

Slamming his locker door shut, Hunter stalked over to Ambrose who had his back to him and was unaware of his approach. Hunter reached out, fully intending to slam Ambrose into the lockers nearby and make him hurt more but before he could lay a hand on him, a powerful force came out of nowhere and slammed him instead into the lockers. Hunter let out a gasp as he got the wind knocked out of him from the blow.

Giving Hunter no time to recover, Roman held him up by the collar of his shirt keeping him pinned against the lockers and snarled, "What do you think you're doing, Hunter?"

Dean, for his part, quirked an eyebrow at Roman's actions but simply shrugged gratefully when Roman just gave him the nod as if to say, 'I've got your back brother' and went about continuing to unpack his bookbag confident that Roman could handle the sleaze bag that was Hunter.

"Answer me!" said Roman in a dangerous low voice when Hunter gave him no response still trying to collect himself from Roman's blindsided attack.

"Get off me," returned Hunter fiercely when he finally found his voice.

"How about you promise to leave Dean alone and then I'll back off," growled Roman his fists tightening around Hunter's collar.

Hunter let out an amused laugh. "If Dean is tired of being the hero and goes back on his word, I'll gladly let him out of his deal. All he has to do is just say the word. After all there are always many other victims I can choose from."

"No," said Roman as he slammed Hunter again into the lockers, "You leave everyone alone, Hunter. You don't own this school. You're just a sniveling coward that somehow ended up with too much power on his hands."

Hunter matched Roman's glare. He had had enough of Roman manhandling him. Summoning his strength, Hunter pushed Roman off of him and got up in his face as the two sized each other up. Dean, as quick as he could, shut his own locker door and stood behind Roman ready to back him up if Hunter decided to start a fight.

"There a problem here boys?" asked Mr. Zimmerman who decided in that moment to show up in the hall. Hunter and Roman immediately both backed off neither one wishing to earn a trip to the principal's office.

"No, sir," said Roman politely as Hunter just continued to give Roman and Dean a death glare.

Mr. Zimmerman nodded, "Well I suggest you boys get to class instead of loitering in the halls," he said firmly as he entered his own classroom.

"This isn't over," spat Hunter at Roman and Dean's retreating backs as he turned and walked down the other side of the hallway towards his first period class.

"Thanks Ro, I didn't see him coming," said Dean with a smirk as he slowly made his way to class. While the pain had died down considerably, his back and ribs were still hurting him to the point where Dean still walked with a bit of a limp.

"Of course," muttered Roman as he tried to keep his anger in check. When he had saw Hunter's intentions of harming Dean further, he had seen red and had thankfully gotten there just in time. If there was one thing Roman couldn't stand it was a cowardly bully who only struck when his victims were vulnerable. Plus Roman had also seen the way Hunter looked at Dean which was with pure hate. Roman, now getting to know Dean, couldn't understand how anyone could hate his new friend unless they were pure evil. Which is what Roman decided that Hunter was, a manipulative, evil, psychopathic kid who needed to be exposed to the whole school so that he could no longer hold it captive with his reign of terror.

* * *

><p>"It's done," said Seth matter of factly as he met Roman and Dean by the sycamore tree during fifth period. Roman and Dean both looked up from their books as Seth sat down beside them.<p>

"Nice," said Dean with a grin as he took a bite of his apple. "I wish I could be there to witness it."

"You could," said Roman, "hide behind the bleachers and watch the show from the sidelines."

"No can do, I've got work."

"Oh, yeah, but how are you going to get through it?" asked Roman concerned about his friend's well being, "From what you've told us your work seems really physical."

"Well it is," began Dean, "but some days I can get away with not showing new moves to my students, we will just have to have a review week and hopefully I will feel up to getting back in the air next week," finished Dean with a shrug.

"Perhaps I can film some of it with my phone," offered Seth with a smirk, he couldn't wait to witness phase I of Operation Payback as well.

"I think that would look too suspicious," said Dean as he rolled his eyes at Seth.

"True."

"Dean is this right?" asked Roman as he handed the sample quiz that Dean had given him for practice back to him.

"Let me see," Dean quickly scanned his hand-made quiz and grinned up at Roman as he finished looking it over. "100 percent correct, Ro!" Dean exclaimed with a smile as he playfully punched Roman in the arm. "Pretty soon you are not going to need me at all!"

"I don't know about that," said Roman as he made a show of rubbing his arm but secretly he was so much more pleased with himself than he let on.

"That's the bell," said Seth springing up to his feet as he offered a hand to Dean. "Catch ya guys later!"

* * *

><p>"What is wrong with you boys?!" roared Coach as the whole football team except for Roman and Seth were constantly adjusting themselves, running uncomfortably and overall grimacing and twitching. "None of you are on par today! DO YOU WANT TO BE HERE ALL NIGHT! Because I can arrange that!" yelled Coach.<p>

"Something is wrong with our uniforms, Coach," whimpered Jason as every step caused him discomfort. Everyone was too frightened to actually admit to Coach that their groins were itching and burning.

"Well I better see some improvement soon!" threatened Coach as he blew his whistle. After another hour of horrible practice, Coach threw in the towel and shouted that the whole team get out of his sight before he did something that he would regret. Upon hearing that everyone took off running for the locker room and the showers desperate to get out of their football uniforms. No one seemed to notice that Seth and Roman calmly made their way back not sharing in their teammate's pain at all.

"Nice job with the itching powder, Seth," whispered Roman as he casually made their way back to the locker room.

"Thanks, we are going to have to up our game soon though," said Seth to Roman, "this was just a little taste meant to frustrate and weaken them."

"You know what we are going to do next?"

"Let's just say I've got some ideas."

**To all my readers, thanks for your support! **

**Please keep the reviews coming.**


	8. Chapter 8

Break Free

By Friday Dean felt almost like his old self again. His wounds were healing nicely. His back and ribs didn't ache as much. Plus armed with the knowledge that Seth and Roman had his back, Dean actually looked forward to school more and more rather than dreading it and concentrating on just getting through the day.

Even his teachers seemed to notice his change of attitude. Mr. Zimmerman just the other day had complimented him for how well he was tutoring Roman and asked if he had ever thought of teaching as a profession. While Dean had stated that he had no intention what so ever to teach, inside he had felt a great sense of pride at his teacher's praise.

Besides the itching powder incident on Monday, the Shield, which is what Roman, Seth and Dean were starting to call themselves, throughout the week had been harassing Evolution by ambushing them with water balloons, putting stink bombs in their lockers and just the other day had soundly defeated them in dodgeball during gym class.

Now, Dean was hanging out with Seth and Roman after school at his house since his was the closest to school and Seth and Roman who were still part of the football team needed to be back at school in a little while to get ready for their home game tonight.

"Dean?"

"Hmmm," said Dean who was deep in thought, pacing the floor of his practically one-room cabin reading from his humongous art history book. Dean had discovered that he actually learned better and absorbed more while he was moving. He wished that he could move around more in school but when he tried to do that once in Mr. Konnyu's class, during his freshmen year, the man had practically gone postal on him and had declared if he ever did that again that he would see to it that he got suspended. So, Dean dealt with his twitchiness in other ways that were not disruptive but still managed to annoy his teachers.

"Have you ever thought about telling anyone about…your…situation?" asked Seth hesitantly, not knowing how Dean would take this question.

Dean's head immediately shot up from his book and he fixed Seth with a hard glare. Jutting out his jaw and tilting his head to the side, Dean's eyes still fixed on Seth he shut his book and put it down on the card table. "Why?" demanded Dean in a hard tone as he sat down next to Seth crossing his arms defensively over his chest.

Roman had looked up curiously from his books as well at Seth's question, but he didn't move from his seated position, which was next to Judah on the threadbare rug that covered a part of Dean's floor.

Seth gave a deep sigh and glanced down at his hands for a second, gathering his thoughts. He had known this would probably be a tough conversation but since he had opened the can of worms he was not going to back down now. Plus, he truly cared about Dean as a friend and didn't think it was fair that he was all alone with no support system. Yeah he did have Seth and Roman now but they were just kids themselves as well and couldn't help him out financially or medically or whatever else he might need help with in the future.

"Because I'm worried about you man," said Seth flinging his arms up in a helpless gesture, "what if we had to take you to the hospital? What if Hunter and Evolution had permanently injured you? Don't you get lonely up here?"

"I have Judah," stated Dean tightly.

"I think what Seth is trying to say," said Roman as both Seth and Dean looked over at him, "is that you don't have to do everything yourself. There are people that can help you. But you have to let them know what's going on."

"Yeah," chimed in Seth, "what if you talked to one of the guidance counselors or a teacher you know you can trust…"

Dean let out a sarcastic laugh. "Dude, they all hate me. As soon as I tell anyone that I actually don't have a legal guardian they wouldn't hesitate to hand me over to child services."

"Or maybe they wouldn't," pressed Roman as he stroked Judah's head, "I mean I don't know that much about the law but you are 17 and have been living independently. Maybe they would let you emancipate yourself."

"All I'm hearing is a lot of 'maybes' and 'what ifs' and I'm sorry guys but that's not good enough," said Dean in frustration as he got up and starting pacing furiously around the room. "Seth…Roman," Dean looked back and forth between them trying to find the right words to express his feelings, "I…you…I only have a few more months until I turn 18 and I just don't want to risk it. I'm almost there. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only a few more months and then I can become my own man and will never have to depend or be beholden to anyone ever again," said Dean vehemently.

Seth and Roman exchanged a glance. They were both sorry that Dean didn't have a family. They couldn't understand how the universe could give them loving families but not Dean. If anyone deserved a loving home, it was Dean.

"What if someone wanted to adopt you?" asked Seth quietly.

"Yeah cause that's not happening," snorted Dean, "dude, in case you missed anything, we are talking about real solutions not fairy tale ones."

"Well, what if?" asked Seth again a little louder this time.

"Do you know of anyone that is willing to adopt a 17 year old male whose got ADHD and problems with authority?"

"Well…"

"Didn't think so!" shot back Dean as he huffed and sat down on his bed.

"Maybe I do know someone who would be interested," said Seth as he stared down at his notebook, hoping that he wasn't saying the wrong thing. He didn't know what Dean would think of his idea but figured that he might as well try.

"Oh please, pray tell, who is it?" asked Dean sarcastically as he lay on his back on the bed and started to toss a tennis ball up in the air and catch it repeatedly. "Who is this mysterious stranger that is going to save poor little 'ol orphan me."

"My dad."

As soon as those words left Seth's mouth, Dean dropped the tennis ball and seemed to be frozen in shock. After a few moments of shocked silence, Dean slowly sat up again and looked at Seth with a mixture of curiousness, apprehension, fear and anger.

"Don't you dare."

"What? Dean?"

"Don't…you…DARE!" shouted Dean as he got up in Seth's face and poked him hard in the chest.

"Dean, what's the matter?" asked Roman as he quickly stood up, ready to break up a fight if it erupted.

"Don't you see what he's doing, Roman?" asked Dean almost manically as he turned to Roman and then back towards Seth, "he's rubbing it in my face that he was adopted and I wasn't!"

"Dean that's not what I meant…" began Seth.

"Oh really, Seth, then what exactly did you mean by it," spat out Dean getting himself worked up, "because I'm pretty sure that there isn't a chance in hell that your dad wants to adopt me."

"How do you know that?"

"BECAUSE I DO!" screamed Dean as he turned around and punched the wall as hard as he could. "FUCK!" he screamed again as he held his hand and slid down the wall as tears began to fall down his face.

"Dean…"

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" yelled Dean as he curled in one himself and slammed his head back against the wall.

"Okay, we won't," said Roman in a calm voice as he crouched a few feet away from Dean, "but we're not going anywhere. We're gonna stay right here and if you need us will be here."

Roman's words seemed to comfort Dean as he stopped trying to hurt himself. But they also proved to be too much for him as he let out a broken sob and then it was as if that one sob let out a whole dam of emotions that Dean had kept bottled up for far too long and he found himself unable to stop crying.

True to his word, both Roman and Seth didn't touch Dean but they stayed right where they were, on the floor with him but a few feet away to give him some space. As time passed, Judah got up from his place on the floor and after licking some of the tears that were still falling from Dean's face, he plopped himself right down next to Dean and let him stroke his fur and sob into his neck as his owner hugged him fiercely.

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	9. Chapter 9

Break Free

Dean sighed as he hunched over on the bleacher, bringing his leather jacket in tighter to keep himself warm and shook his hands out. They were a bit sore from the Shield's latest prank on Evolution which would come to fruition after the game.

Seth had decided that tonight would be the perfect for their latest prank so that Evolution couldn't get up to any trouble after the game like last week. Although this time it was up to Dean to do most of the work, since Seth and Roman had to play in the game, but that was fine with him. He had been aching to get back at Evolution and since Seth and Roman had done a lot of the work so far, he was actually itching to get his hands a little dirty.

Dean shivered as a chilly breeze swept through the football field. He had not anticipated that it would be this cold in late September. _The game was almost over though_, thought Dean, as he glanced up at the scoreboard again. He had missed the first half of the game entirely in preparation for the prank tonight and the little that he had seen of the second half did not look promising. They were trailing by six points with only three minutes left plus the other team had the ball and were about to score.

Dean felt a little torn. He knew Seth and Roman were very competitive and still very much wanted to win the game. He just couldn't bring himself to root for Hunter, Randy, Dave, Kane, Titus, etc. Although, he recognized that not all of the team was evil. In fact, four years ago when Hunter had started his little crusade against Dean some of them in the beginning, like Dolph, had spoken up for him but that had gotten quashed almost as soon as it begun and over time Dolph and any other would be rebels had fallen into line just like everybody else, until Seth and Roman had come along.

_Seth_. Dean felt bad and embarrassed about what had happened at his house a few hours prior. He had just been trying to help like he always did. For which Dean would be ever grateful to him for. He had not meant to explode like that but he did. And to make matter worse he had ended up balling like a baby for a considerable length of time until he literally could not cry any more.

Pretty soon after he had calmed down, Seth and Roman had to leave to get ready, so they hadn't had any time to talk about it for which Dean was also grateful. He didn't want to talk about it. He hated talking about that sort of stuff. All it did was just bring up bad memories about the past. Dean didn't see how it could help him any.

Yeah shit happened to him but he got over it. End of story. What Dean looked forward to was his future. That's what mattered. That's what he could control.

Although, he thought to himself, in a way, Seth was trying to help with his future. Even with his good grades, he knew his prospects for college were bleak. He had looked into it a few times but college was crazy expensive even the application process was a bit pricey for Dean who had no parents to front the cost for him taking the PSATs and the SATs not to mention the application fees. So Dean hadn't even bothered with it and planned to get a full time job in addition to the one he had now when he turned 18. Then when he saved up enough, he would take classes at the local community college and if he succeeded in getting a two year degree perhaps he would then consider transferring to a state college or university. So yeah he didn't have a great plan, but he at least had one which didn't involve drugs or criminal activity.

The sound of cheering awoke Dean from his musings and he looked up just in time to see Roman tackle the opposing team's running back with enough force that he knocked the ball loose and allowed their team to recover the fumble. Dean stood up to clap Roman's effort along with the rest of the crowd and chanced a look at the scoreboard and time clock. They were still down by six points and they had less than a minute to score.

Dean kept standing as the offense took the field. He was surprised to note that Randy was actually not in as quarterback anymore. He had noticed that Randy had been particularly bad tonight and seemed to go out of his way to avoid throwing the ball to Seth who had no catches so far in this game even though he was the best wide receiver that the team had. Apparently Coach had had enough which was rare. Dean had never heard of him benching Randy before. Dolph, who was the backup quarterback, was in instead and as he snapped the ball, he looked around in the pocket for a few seconds before throwing the ball to Seth who caught it at the fifty yard line and got ten more yards before being brought down by the opposing team's secondary.

Dean whooped at Seth's success and allowed himself a grin as he could feel the electricity of the crowd around him. In spite of himself, Dean was actually enjoying this. Seth caught the ball again and went another twenty yards before he was pushed out of bounds. The crowd was tense and excited. The clock had stopped at ten seconds and the team was at the twenty yard line. They had time for only one more play.

Dean stood up on top of his bleacher to get an even better look at the field. _Come on Seth_, he thought. The ball was snapped, Dolph looked at Seth who was open in the end zone and tossed him the ball which he caught in spectacular fashion. The crowd erupted and as the extra point was kicked and made their win official, spectators ran onto the field and lifted Seth up on their shoulders and began to chant his name.

Dean didn't rush the field. He would congratulate his friend later but his smile faded as he saw Hunter on the side of the field glaring daggers at Seth. That made Dean nervous. Usually that glare was reserved only for him and in his experience it was never a healthy thing to be the subject of one of Hunter's death glares. Especially since he would have reason to hate them even more after tonight's prank was completed. He would have to keep an extra eye on Seth, and with that in mind Dean made his way down from the bleachers and went to go get ready for the final stage of their prank.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Dean met Seth and Roman at Ro's father's pickup truck which they had borrowed for tonight's prank because Seth had reasoned that after their little speech that they were going to give to Evolution and when they realized what the prank was they would need a quick getaway.<p>

"Everything set?" asked Roman as he walked up to Dean who was leaning against the truck.

"Yep! Congratulations man that was an exciting end!" said Dean with a smile as he slapped Roman on the shoulder.

Roman grinned back, "Thanks, yeah those kind of games make you feel so alive and proud. But of course we couldn't have gotten the job done without Seth here!" exclaimed Roman as Seth jogged up to them with his duffel bag and the game ball in tow.

"Thanks," said Seth who was smiling from ear to ear and gasped in surprise as Dean lifted him up off the ground and shook him from side to side in the biggest bear hug ever. "Woah…ok Dean put me down!"

"Will do," said Dean with a playful grin as he set Seth down.

"I guess your ribs are definitely all healed up," said Seth as he lightly punched Dean in the shoulder for picking him up.

"Good as new!"

"Excellent, well they are bound to come out of the locker any time now so we should be ready," said Seth ever in game plan mode as he glanced around the school parking lot which by now was only filled with the cars of the football players. Even Coach had gone home.

"You wanna go over the speech one more time?" asked Dean as he bounced on his toes ready for action.

"Nahh, unless you do?" said Seth, "I mean I'm just going to follow your lead and look menacing while Roman will be in the driver's seat. It's your show tonight," finished Seth as he patted Dean on the shoulder for moral support.

"Here they come," stated Roman quietly as he got into the driver's seat while Seth and Dean clambered into the back of the pickup. Starting the car, Roman purposefully backed up the truck to meet the members of the team who were making their way out of the locker room. Seth and Roman had made sure that they were the first ones out of there so that everyone would be surprised. Roman came to a sudden halt in front of the entrance where all the guys were and they were taken by surprise as the lights from the pickup blinded them for a second and then they stared as Dean and Seth stood up from the bed of the truck.

"Good evening gentlemen," said Dean loud and clear as he looked at them all with a smirk.

"What's the meaning of this, Ambrose," shouted Hunter as he walked up from the back of the group.

"What's the matter Hunter? Don't you miss me?" said Dean mockingly, "I just came to say hi and to let you all know that 'the deal' is off!"

Hunter chuckled darkly as he took a step towards the truck, "Finally! The great Dean Ambrose has given up. I wondered how long it would take until you cracked!"

"I think you misunderstand me Hunter," said Dean darkly and he shifted his gaze from Hunter and looked into as many eyes as he could most of whom were staring at him with wide eyes unsure of what was going to happen next. "The Shield is instituting a new deal. No one is going to hurt anyone at any time," said Dean his voice getting louder with each word to make sure that everyone heard and understood him, "if you do that, we'll leave you alone. If you don't then we're just gonna keep bothering you with our little pranks that you love so much," said Dean smiling at the memory of this past week. "And believe me," said Dean now lowering his voice to a growl, "what we've got in mind will make this past week seem like child's play."

Hunter scoffed and puffed out his chest, "Dean you seem to forget one crucial detail. I OWN THIS SCHOOL! YOU ARE NOTHING!"

"Not anymore Hunter," said Dean crouching down so he was level with Hunter, "you're old news."

"It's pretty simple really," said Seth chiming in as he addressed the rest of the team while Hunter and Dean were locked in a stare down. "Just stop following Hunter. He's a prick. I know most of you aren't his biggest fans so stop it. Stop giving him power because when you do that you'll realize that he actually has none."

"Shut up, Rollins!" shouted Hunter as he tore his gaze from Dean and pointed at Seth, "I should have put you and Reigns down when I had the chance!"

"But you didn't," shot back Seth as he flashed Hunter a cocky grin, "and I think what you meant to say was that you would have tried to 'put down' me and Roman but, even if you had that foresight, you wouldn't have been able to get the job done because…you're…weak," finished Seth letting those words sink in to the rest of the players.

Hunter was now fuming but at a loss for words, Randy and Dave were sulking in the back of the group and everyone else was looking at Dean and Seth with a mixture of emotions.

"Well…," said Dean grinning at everyone's expressions, "I think we've made our point Seth. Don't you think?"

"I think we have," said Seth nodding his head.

"But to make sure that you don't get into any mischief tonight or are tempted to engage in criminal activity," said Dean capturing everyone's attention again who had started to go towards their cars, "and to make sure that you contemplate the consequences of your actions and the options that we have laid out for you tonight," said Dean grinning, "I think you'll find that all of your license plates have mysteriously fallen off your cars."

"What!" shouted several guys as they looked towards their cars and noticed for the first time that indeed it was as Dean had said. All of their license plates were missing from the fifty or so cars that were left in the parking lot.

"Tough luck," said Seth snapping his fingers in mock disappointment.

"But not to worry," said Dean holding up his hands at the shocked faces staring up at him, "I think you'll find that your naughty license plates have seemed to have scattered themselves in several different places including the roof, the football field, the soccer field and the far field," said Dean gesturing to the different places.

"I don't remember my license plate number!" exclaimed someone.

"Should have thought of that before you went and lost your license plate," deadpanned Dean, "we're done here, Roman." He said knocking on the hood the front of the truck and with that the Shield drove off leaving the rest of the football team in stunned silence.

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	10. Chapter 10

Break Free

Hunter was beyond pissed. Thanks to the Shield's so-called prank, almost all of the guys on the football team after spending several hours figuring out which license plates were theirs had decided that it wasn't worth their while to back Hunter up anymore. Only Dave and Randy stuck by Hunter who promised them that they would get their revenge. So now it was just three-on-three which didn't bother Hunter. They would break the Shield. He was sure of it. The only question was how to go about doing it?

Hunter had some ideas but so far none of them screamed 'diabolical', and that is exactly what Hunter wanted to do to the Shield. He yearned to do unspeakable things to all three of them until they all were a quivering mess at his feet, begging for mercy and wishing that they had never defied him in the first place.

"So…what's the plan, Hunter?" asked Dave, as him and Randy slid into Hunter's Hummer Monday morning before school started in order to plan their revenge.

Hunter scowled at the pair of them. Why was it that it was always up to him? Couldn't the two idiots have any ideas of their own once in a while? Hunter tapped his playbook as he tried to think until all of a sudden it hit him.

Hunter immediately opened up the team playbook and looked in the front flap for the schedule of games. He grinned as he correctly remembered their opponents this coming Friday.

"Hunter?" inquired Randy as he saw the glee evident in Hunter's eyes.

Hunter shoved the playbook at Randy and Dave and pointed towards the schedule.

"Look who is playing against us this coming Friday," said Hunter as he rubbed his hands together like a mad scientist, "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

Randy matched Hunter's grin as he closed the playbook and tossed it onto the floor of the car. "Foolproof, I would say."

"But I don't want to wait until Friday," mumbled Dave sulkily as he crossed his arms. "All last week the Shield embarrassed us! I want…no…I need to make someone pay, today!"

"Agreed," nodded Hunter as he acknowledged Dave's frustration.

"But, what ohhh…," said Randy as his wicked eyes sparkled with sudden inspiration, "Hunter I have a great idea."

"Care to enlighten us?"

* * *

><p>The weekend had passed quickly for the Shield. Dean had worked most of it. Seth had gone on a weekend fishing trip with his Dad, and Roman pretty much had a standard weekend with his family until he had invited, or rather, insisted that Dean come over for Sunday brunch.<p>

Dean tried to refuse his friend multiple times because he didn't want to impose or show up someplace where he wasn't invited. But after Roman's insistence that Dean was welcome any time, Dean found himself caving in and ended showing up for brunch. Dean need not have worried. He immediately fit in with the rambunctious family and secretly loved the fact that Roman's mom fussed over him like he was one of her own sons and had fed him to his heart's content.

"Seth you should have been there, Mrs. Reigns can cook like no other!" exclaimed Dean as he and Roman stood by Seth's locker waiting for the first bell to ring. "There were waffles, bacon, eggs, blueberries, pancakes, strawberries, sausage, grits, biscuits and bananas! Did I mention the bacon?" said Dean practically salivating at the memory.

"I'm glad you had a good time," said Seth barely able to contain his laughter at Dean's exuberant happiness over food.

"I don't think you understand man," groaned Dean as he rubbed his stomach, "it was like I had died and gone to heaven. Rome you better thank your lucky stars everyday that you have the mom that you do," said Dean closing his eyes and sighing.

"Don't worry, Dean. I do," said Roman as he smiled at his friend's antics.

"Are we meeting by the sycamore tree for fifth period?" asked Seth as he closed his locker.

"Yep, I don't think it's going to rain today," said Dean, "but if it does then we'll meet in the boiler room. I showed you guys how to get in there right?"

"Yes, last Wednesday," said Roman grinning to himself, "right after we gave Kane a wedgie."

"Oh yeah," laughed Dean as he remembered the very unmanly shriek Kane had given when they had snuck up behind and pranked him.

"See ya there then," said Seth as he walked towards the center stairwell leaving Dean and Roman to reminisce over Kane's misfortune.

* * *

><p>Roman reached the tree way before Seth and Dean, but that was only because today fourth period had let out a little earlier than usual. It was a splendid day. Not too hot or too cold. Roman always loved this nice weather that came between the dying days of summer and the start of fall. Figuring he might as well relax while he can, because knowing Dean he would have him studying like crazy as soon as he got there, Dean was turning out to be a demanding tutor, Roman stretched out on his back, head under his backpack and closed his eyes as he felt the warm sun on his skin.<p>

"Well…well….well, look who we have here."

Roman's eyes shot open at the sound of Hunter's voice, but before he could move Hunter, Randy and Dave pounced on him. They were so quick that Roman barely had time to move before they snatched him up off the ground, rough hands holding him in a bruising hold as they carried him off.

"Get off!" yelled Roman as he tried to wriggle and wrench himself out of their grasp but it was to no avail. They had him right where they wanted him. And there was nobody in sight to help him.

"Calm down, Roman," said Randy in a steady voice as if he was talking to a toddler, "we just want to show you something, right boys?"

"Yeah, you're gonna love it," sneered Dave as he pulled sharply on Roman's hair making the Samoan wince in pain.

"Where are you taking me? What are you doing?" asked Roman trying desperately to slow down his racing heart and think a way out of his predicament. _But it was no use_. He thought to himself, he was never any good at thinking of a plan off the top of his head that was Dean and Seth's forte. _God how he wished his friends were here_.

He didn't receive any comfort from Hunter's next words. "You'll see soon enough."

After a few painful minutes of Roman being roughly hauled around, he was slammed unceremoniously into the ground which knocked the wind right out of him. Roman grunted at the impact and remained dazed on the ground until hands were clawing at him again. Too out of it to fight back, Roman groaned trying to stop his head from spinning as they forced him to his knees and bent him over so that his stomach was touching what Roman surmised to be a tree stump.

Roman glanced quickly around, they were far enough in the forest that was situated behind the school that no one would see or hear what was going on. Roman had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. This situation was not looking good for him.

Roman gasped as his hands were tied tightly with a coarse rope and stretched out so that he could not move his arms at all. At the same time, someone else was tying the backs of his legs to the stump so that he could not move whatsoever.

Evolution stepped back for a second to admire their handiwork as their victim was stretched out helplessly before them. Smirking, Hunter moved forward and ripped Roman's t-shirt off of him with a few rough pulls. For now, Roman remained silent, he knew he was trapped but he wouldn't give Evolution the satisfaction of seeing him panic or cry.

Roman heard Randy and Dave moving around the forest. He tried to see what they were doing but was stopped when Hunter tugged his hair and forced his head up so that he was staring right at him.

"You should have left well enough alone, Roman," growled Hunter as he studied Roman's face, "you had no business interfering with me and Ambrose."

"Dean is my friend and whoever messes with him makes it my business," spat out Roman as he glared back at Hunter.

Hunter laughed sadistically at Roman as he pinched his cheek mockingly. "By the time I'm through with you, you're gonna wish you never even met Dean Ambrose!" And with that threat completed, Hunter shoved Roman's face down against the stump and moved to stand by Randy and Dave who had come back with what they had apparently been looking for.

Roman chanced a glance over his shoulder and his face paled as he realized what they intended to do. All three of them were holding sturdy sticks that were about the same size of a cane and were looking at him like they were three wolves who had found a sheep stuck in a bush. Roman turned his head back around and braced himself as the first strike struck his back hard.

Roman clenched his fists trying not to give them the satisfaction of crying out. The second strike was even harder and seemed to knock all of the air out of Roman's lungs. The third struck his lower back which made him gasp, he was already sore there from Friday night's game still. The fourth came ever harder and Roman could no longer contain himself as he let out a cry. The fifth came soon after and cut Roman's back as he strained against the ropes trying to inch away from the blows but it was no use.

He was trapped and at their mercy. Tears came to Roman's eyes as they continued to beat him, raining down blows on his unprotected back. _How was he going to survive this?_

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	11. Chapter 11

Break Free

"I guess we beat Rome here," said Dean slightly out of breath as he touched the tree first. As he had been walking out of the gym door, Seth had run past him and challenged him to a sprint to the tree. Dean, being Dean obliged and had narrowly won.

Seth put his hands on his hips as he breathed deeply a bit disappointed that Dean had beaten him, when he spotted Roman's bookbag on the ground. "But his bag is here," said Seth as he pointed it out to Dean.

Dean looked quizzically down at it and back up to Seth.

"Maybe he needed to take a leak?" guessed Seth as he shrugged his shoulders and sat down under the tree. He wasn't that concerned. Roman would show up eventually.

Dean looked down at the bag again and noticed that the grass around it seemed to be freshly trampled upon and disturbed. There were even tufts of it that had been kicked up entirely like someone had been digging his heels into the ground. Then, Dean spotted a black hair tie and knew that it was Roman's. Dean had a bad feeling about this. "I don't think he would leave this hanging around though," said Dean as he picked up the hair tie and showed it to Seth.

Seth looked up from his book and took the hair tie from Dean, examining it. "Or it could be one of a million hair ties that the girls at this school lose all the time. We aren't the only people that hang around this tree Dean."

"No…but we are the most consistent," insisted Dean as he gazed around the ground trying to see if he could find any more clues. He was getting more worried by the second. Hunter had been livid Friday night. Dean had been waiting all day for him to corner him but was surprised when he had kept his distance. Dean had almost been hoping that the prank had been the last straw and that Hunter had acquiesced to their demands. But maybe that meant he was just targeting someone different. Someone like… Roman.

"Dean, relax," said Seth noticing that Dean was getting worked up, walking around the base of the tree sweeping his gaze from side to side, staring at the grass, "any second now, I'll bet Roman's gonna walk up here and you will feel silly for acting like an overprotective mother hen."

Dean paled as his eyes spied upon something a few yards away from the bookbag. It was the Samoan bracelet that Roman always wore and was given to him by his Dad on his sixteenth birthday. Dean knew for a fact that Roman treasured this, and the fact that the string was broken led Dean to believe that something was truly wrong.

Dean's eyes narrowed as he looked up. The forest, which was technically off limits to students, was extremely easy to get to from here and, by this point; Dean was familiar with Hunter's ways. Hunter loved to get his victims, alone and away from any prying eyes. He had a knack for it. Without another word, Dean took off running towards the forest.

"Dean! What are you…" Seth shut his book quickly and followed his friend who was sprinting towards the forest as if he was possessed. Seth almost ran into him though as he stopped short after getting a few feet into the actual woods and held up a hand to motion Seth to be quiet. Seth tried again to find out what Dean was thinking, "What are we doing," he whispered but Dean just hushed him.

Then both Seth and Dean heard it. It was a cry. A faint cry and maybe if the wind had been blowing a different direction that day they might not have heard it. But they knew instantly who it was.

"That way," said Dean firmly pointing towards the direction from where they had heard it and started running again with Seth hot on his heels.

Occasionally they had to stop to listen for any sound again before they continued to make sure that they were heading in the right direction. Soon the sounds kept getting louder. The air was filled with 'whacks', pain-filled shouts and cries from Roman and self-righteous laughter which enraged both Seth and Dean.

As soon as they saw the four figures in the distance, they charged right at them. The three thugs were having so much fun inflicting pain and humiliation on Roman that they were taken by surprise when they were tackled from behind by Dean and Seth who didn't hesitate to rain punches and kicks on the back of their heads and bodies. Randy, Hunter and Dave were stunned for a few seconds until they fought back and ran away as soon as they threw either Seth or Dean off of them. Dean tried to give chase. He was in such a rage that he looked like a berserker until he heard Seth's voice calling him back.

"Dean forget about them for now! Roman needs help!" shouted Seth as he started to tug at the ropes still holding Roman fast to the tree stump.

Dean snarled at the three cowards running off but turned and went back to his friends now focusing all of his attention on Roman.

"How are you big guy?" asked Dean, although he inwardly winced at himself as he asked that question of course Roman wasn't okay, he took a look at the knots which Seth had not been able to make any progress with and pulled his Swiss army knife out of his back pocket and started to saw the coarse rope. He ignored the look Seth gave him.

"Dean we're not supposed to have weapons at school."

"This is not a weapon. This is a very handy tool," said Dean not missing a beat as he continued to cut the rope.

"That's not the point, Dean and you know it," said Seth in his best adult voice, which Dean did not have time for right now. They were in the middle of a rescue operation for crying out loud.

"Can you guys argue about this later," said Roman his voice almost a whisper, "Right now Seth I'm just fucking glad that Dean has a fucking knife."

"Sorry," said Seth hastily as he focused his attention again on his wounded friend. Seth flinched inwardly as he examined Roman's back. Many cuts littered his back although thankfully none of them were too deep. Seth was concerned about the bruising though. Roman seemed to have sustained deep and painful bruising all along his back if the bruises already starting to form were any indication.

Blood was dripping down his back and some was in Roman's sweaty hair. Seth took his own hair tie out and as gently as he could he twisted Roman's hair into a low hanging bun at the nape of his neck so that Roman's hair wouldn't stick to any of the cuts.

Roman murmured a thanks at Seth and Dean as Dean's efforts finally freed the backs of his legs from the stump and then Dean proceeded to work on the ropes digging into Roman's wrists. Seth noticed Roman's torn shirt and zipped off his light hoodie it might be a bit snug on Roman but it would do for now.

Roman let out a shuddering breath as Dean finally got his wrists free and placed his hands shakily on the tree stump as Dean and Seth helped him to his feet. Roman winced and clenched his jaw as pain shot through his entire body. He was in an awful amount of pain but his pride didn't want him to admit that right now. Not even to his buddies. He was also angry as fuck.

He hated that Evolution had gotten the jump on him and although he was grateful that Dean and Seth had come when they did he was also embarrassed that he had to be saved like he was a fucking damsel in distress. What would his father say if he learned about this? Probably disappointed, if he knew his old man, thought Roman sarcastically to himself.

"Here, Ro," said Seth calmly as he held out his hoodie so that Roman could slide his arms through. Again Roman was grateful that Seth just offered his help right now without him having to ask. Roman let out a hiss as the material from the hoodie brushed against his back. His back felt like it was on fire plus getting pounded by a rhino. But Roman hated going shirtless even more and didn't want the evidence of his humiliation shown to the world so he tolerated it.

Dean was barely keeping it together as he saw blood already seeping through the back of Seth's hoodie as Roman put it on. He knew that his friend must be in an incredible amount of pain but he also knew that going after Evolution right now wouldn't be helping Roman. His first prerogative was Roman. After that he would tear Hunter's face off.

"Wanna go home? I'll drive." Offered Dean and Roman just nodded and handed him his keys out of his back pocket and accepted a shoulder from each of his friends as he limped to his car.

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	12. Chapter 12

Break Free

Roman winced again as Dean screeched to a stop at yet another stop sign before going through it. Roman made a note to himself to never let Dean drive his car again. At this rate, his brakes would be shot before they even made it to his house.

"Take it easy Dean. I'm not dying," he mumbled in an effort to get Dean to ease up on his driving.

"You should've let me drive," muttered Seth as they practically were thrown forward as Dean brought the car to a skidding halt as the light in front of them turned red.

"Hey ease up!" exclaimed Dean in mock indignation as his friends' lack of faith in his driving abilities. "I think I'm doing great for my first time," said Dean simply as he pressed on the gas jarringly and headed up the street towards Roman's house, his tongue sticking slightly out of his mouth as he concentrated on what he was doing.

"What do you mean this is your first time?" asked Roman wide eyed, the pain in his back momentarily forgotten. "You mean that this is your first time driving since getting your license? Right?" asked Roman praying that that was what Dean meant.

"Nope," said Dean taking his eyes off the road for a moment to grin at Roman. "I mean that I've never actually driven before. I've always wanted to though just could never find someone to teach me. But I don't know why everyone makes a big deal out of it. It's not that hard at all…"

"DEAN LOOK OUT!" shouted Seth as Dean turned his attention back to the road and slammed on the brakes as the car in front of him had suddenly stopped short. The tires squealed at the rough treatment but Dean had put on the brakes just in time and they stopped short of the car in front of them missing the bumper by millimeters.

"That's it," declared Seth, "get out I'm driving."

"No," said Dean going around the car they had almost hit and continuing down the street, "this is fun besides we're almost there."

"Dean, stop this car now," said Seth barely keeping it together. He couldn't believe Dean's audacity. He could have gotten them killed.

"No."

"Yes."

"Nuh uh."

"Dean…"

"Oh, look we're here," said Dean glancing in the rearview mirror at Seth and giving him a shit-eating grin as he clumsily parked in front of Roman's house. Dean mentally gave himself a pat on the back. He had done it! He had finally driven a car! However, Roman's pain filled expression as he hobbled out of the passenger side stopped Dean's celebratory thoughts and drove him to leap out of his side to help his friend.

Seth walked up to Dean a little pissed off and swiped the keys from Dean's hand and pointed an accusing finger towards him. "Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again! No more driving for you until you get your license." Dean pouted at Seth but he really wasn't mad, he was still replaying his first time driving ever in his mind.

Roman motioned towards his car which thanks to Dean half of it was on the curb. "Seth, could you?"

"On it," said Seth knowing what his friend wanted as he strode back to the car to fix Dean's horrendous parking.

Roman leaned heavily on Dean as they walked into his house.

"But, Ro didn't I do a great job for my first time?" asked Dean excitedly unable to contain his exuberance at what he had accomplished today.

"Yeah, Dean, you did," said Roman with a tired smile. He didn't have enough energy to get mad at Dean. He would leave that to Seth for now.

"Is your mom home?" inquired Dean as they entered the silent Reigns household.

"I guess not," said Roman as he thanked his lucky stars, he didn't want his mom or dad finding out about this incident. "She's probably out shopping. Let's go to my room," said Roman trying to take deep breaths as the pain began to get even worse.

"Take it easy, Ro," said Dean trying to comfort him as he noticed his friend's labored breathing. "You should probably take this off for now," pointed out Dean, gesturing to Seth's hoodie which by now the back of it was almost completely covered in blood, when they got to Roman's room.

Roman nodded in agreement and slowly began to tug it off when he let out a shout of pain.

"What's wrong?" asked Dean coming Roman's side immediately as his friend sat on the edge of his bed, hunched over trying to just will the pain away.

"I think it's stuck…stuck to my back," gasped out Roman as he gestured to the hoodie.

Dean's face paled as he realized what his friend was talking about. His fears were confirmed as he gently inspected his friend's back. Sure enough, the hoodie was stuck like glue to the many open wounds on Roman's back. They needed to take it off so that they could treat the wounds properly and prevent infection but it was going to hurt like a bitch.

"You're right," said Dean slowly, "what do you want to do, man?"

Roman thought about it for a minute thinking over the different possibilities then he turned to Dean. "Just take it off. As quick as you can."

Dean looked at Roman hesitantly. The wounds would definitely open up again with a vengeance and Roman already seemed to have lost quite a bit of blood. "Are you sure?"

"Just fucking do it, Dean. Before I lose my nerve," said Roman a little louder than he intended but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was in too much pain.

"Ok," said Dean positioning himself behind Roman as Roman got the arms of the hoodie off so that all Dean had to do was pull it off him in one swoop. "You ready?"

Roman gritted his teeth and no sooner had he nodded than Dean ripped the piece of clothing off of him taking some of Roman's dried blood and pieces of skin with it.

"FUCK!" screamed Roman as he collapsed stomach first onto his bed almost passing out from the intense pain.

"Sorry, man," apologized Dean as he stared at the mess of Roman's back and felt guilty for causing his friend even more pain.

"I heard screaming," said Seth matter of factly as he brought a bunch of medical supplies with him, "what did I miss?"

Dean held out the ruined hoodie toward Seth as a manner of explanation and gestured helplessly toward Roman's back as some of the wounds started to bleed again.

"Shit, Roman," cursed Seth as he examined his back. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital, because I don't know how well Dean and I can help you?"

Roman wearily turned his head towards Seth and Dean. "Positive. Don't need my parents worrying. It would only upset my mom. Plus, they've got enough on their plate."

"Ok," said Seth haltingly not at all convinced. Seth and Dean, true to their word, tried to do their best but both felt like they weren't doing much to alleviate Roman's pain. Seth felt like he did a shitty job patching up Roman's back and was extremely worried for his friend who seemed to grow paler by the minute. As Seth and Dean heard Mrs. Reigns come home, they both shared a glance and seemed to reach an agreement as Dean went downstairs.

"Don't let her see," breathed Roman who was so weak he could barely lift his head.

"Sorry, man," said Seth shaking his head, "this is for your own good."

"Dean, honey, what's wrong? Why did you boys leave school early? I got a call…" Mrs. Reigns questioning stopped as soon as Dean brought her into Roman's room and she got a look at the state of her son. Seth moved over slightly as Mrs. Reigns strode over to Roman touching his forehead and caressing his hair, comforting him as only a mother can do, while looking with a critical eye at the wounds he had sustained.

"Mom…Momma," said Roman weakly as he leaned into his mother's touch. At this point, he didn't care if he looked weak in front of his friends. Right now he just wanted his mom to take care of him and make the pain go away. He was so tired.

"I'm here baby," whispered Mrs. Reigns as he lightly kissed her son on the forehead and then stood up gesturing to Seth and Dean. "You boys will need to carry him to the car for me. You can call your parents on the way to the hospital."

"No hospital…" groaned Roman trying to protest.

"That is not up for discussion, young man," stated Mrs. Reigns as he stroked his cheek and then moved back downstairs as Seth and Dean followed her with Roman in between the two of them.

* * *

><p>"So…who exactly is Evolution?" inquired Seth's dad as Dean and Seth were seated in the hospital lobby explaining the situation as best as they could to the adults present for what felt like the hundredth time today<p>

"Certain guys on the football team who feel like they own the school," said Seth as he rubbed his eyes with one hand. The events of the day had left him totally worn out.

"And why have they targeted you three?" asked Mark, Seth's dad as he fixed them both with a piercing gaze. "Well, Dean…"

"They started to pick on me this year because I'm not part of the team," said Dean talking over Seth, "but Roman and Seth stuck up for me and we've kind of been pulling pranks on each other ever since," explained Dean as casually as he could.

"I wouldn't call what happened to my son today a prank," said Mr. Reigns harshly as he stared hard at the two boys.

"I wouldn't either sir," said Dean in a low voice as he looked down at his hands.

"Who instigated this prank war?" asked Mark as he looked to his son for an explanation.

"They did, dad," said Seth heatedly, "we've just been defending ourselves and getting a little payback. Everything we've done to them has been richly deserved." Mark nodded at his son's passionate outcry. He believed Seth. He knew him and knew that his son always had a good reason for doing anything. However, he couldn't help but feel like they were holding certain details about this story from him especially Dean who was constantly twitching, wouldn't make eye contact except with Seth and on the whole let Seth do most of the talking.

After about another hour or so of questioning, the adults gave up for now. The boys were exhausted and it was clear that they weren't going to say much more than they already had. With a promise to give them updates on Roman's condition, the Reigns agreed that the boys should go home.

Mark took Seth home and offered a ride to Dean who declined stating that his home wasn't far although Seth knew that was a lie. But he wouldn't betray his friend's confidence for now. He knew Dean was terrified of being discovered which is why they were both so hesitant on telling the full story. But he knew it couldn't last. Sooner or later their parents were going to need a better explanation than the one they had given tonight.

* * *

><p>Dean sighed deeply as he closed his locker. It was fifth period now and for the third day in a row Roman was still not back at school. He had gotten discharged from the hospital yesterday, Seth had told him, but he guessed that Roman still wasn't up to coming to school yet. Dean sighed again, he really missed him and their study sessions.<p>

For the past two days he had gone to lunch with Seth but today he didn't really feel like it especially since Seth had been talking more to this girl Andrea he had a thing for, which Dean totally understood. Andrea was nice and beautiful although a bit too dimwitted for Dean's tastes and had a strange laugh. Dean just wanted to be alone right now so he headed to the boiler room for fifth period planning on reading _The Outsiders_ for fun.

Dean slyly made his way to the room that was technically off limits to students and easily picked the lock. He carelessly tossed his bookbag on the ground and hunkered himself down in a comfy corner taking the worn book out of his bag and began to read it for about the tenth time.

Dean was just starting to relax when the book was knocked out of his hands and he looked up to see Hunter smirking down at him. Dean clenched his fists ready for a fight but was then surprised when Hunter took a few steps back and perched himself on a desk that seemed to have found its way into the room that also served partly as a storage closet for the school. Keeping his gaze on Hunter, Dean slowly stood up and leaned against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Dean spat.

"I want to talk, Ambrose."

"For what purpose?!"

"In order to prevent the future suffering of your two buddies," said Hunter smiling as he held out his hands in a seemingly mocking gesture of peace. "I mean you do care about them don't you?" asked Hunter sarcastically as he started to circle Dean staring at him with a predatory gaze.

"You know they didn't have to be dragged into this Ambrose. We could have just kept this between us. But I guess that's what happens when you start becoming weak and relying on others to do your dirty work for you," sneered Hunter.

Dean tried to not let it show but Hunter's words cut him to the core. Hunter was right. It was his entire fault that this had happened to Roman. He should have been stronger. He should have insisted that Roman and Seth leave it alone. What did he think he was doing? Hunter always got his way, no matter what. Dean had seen it happen again and again, why did he dare think that this time it would be any different?

"Cut the crap, Hunter," said Dean in as forceful a voice as he could muster, "what's your game here?"

Hunter surveyed Dean with a cold expression on his face. "I miss our deal."

"Well that's too bad," Dean shot back, "I don't and you don't have your army to hide behind anymore. Me and Seth can still take you three," said Dean gaining confidence as he spoke, he wouldn't let himself be cowed into submission by Hunter.

Hunter eyes blazed with anger but after a minute or two his lips spread into a sick smile, "Perhaps but what if Seth finds himself alone like Roman did?"

"He won't, I'll make sure of that," said Dean heatedly.

"You can't be sure of that," mocked Hunter.

"Watch me!" Dean had enough of this. Hunter was just trying to get inside his head. He had enough of his mind games. He turned his back to Hunter and went to get his bookbag and get the hell out of there when what Hunter said next froze him mid-step.

"Even when child services come to take you away?"

Dean slowly turned back around to face Hunter who had a knowing smirk on his face.

"I must say, I got to hand it to you, Ambrose, that's quite some con you've got going on," said Hunter in a low voice as he stepped right into Dean's space. "Jeb wasn't even your grandfather. You're just what I knew all along. A good for nothing runaway who nobody ever gave a damn about in the first place."

Dean steeled his expression as Hunter stared him down. He furiously blinked back tears because he would never let Hunter see him shed a tear.

"You wouldn't," said Dean almost in a whisper when he trusted himself to speak. Hunter had to be bluffing.

"Try me," said Hunter silkily knowing that he had won. Dean lowered his head, Hunter had gotten the better of him and he knew it.

Dean let out a shaky breath, "so what's it gonna take Hunter?"

Hunter smiled and ruffled Dean's hair in a mocking gesture of affection. "I never did get to use that cattle brand." Dean's eyes widened as he understood the implication behind Hunter's words but what choice did he have? It was only two more months until his birthday. He could last until then. I least he hoped he could.

"When," he said hoping that he didn't sound defeated although he certainly felt it.

"Let's say tomorrow after the game," said Hunter shrugging his shoulders as if the two of them were discussing a simple hang out with friends.

"And you won't hurt Seth and Roman?" asked Dean, he would be damned if he brought his friends into this any more than they already were.

"I swear I won't harm a hair on Seth's head," said Hunter holding up a hand. Hunter smiled inwardly he was really going to enjoy this now that he had the ultimate upper hand with Dean.

"And Roman," growled Dean.

"And Roman," agreed Hunter, "as long as they don't interfere again."

"Fine," mumbled Dean, feeling as if he had just sold his soul to the devil.

"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow Dean," said Hunter chuckling darkly as Dean grabbed his stuff and roughly shouldered his way past Hunter to get out of the room. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

**Thanks for reading and reviewing :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Break Free

Dean nervously tapped his fingers on his collarbone as he watched the game. This Friday the game was away but Dean had insisted on driving with Seth and keeping as close to him as possible. Even though he had Hunter's so called word that he wouldn't touch Seth he didn't want to take any chances. He hadn't told Seth or Roman what had happened yesterday and he didn't plan on it because frankly he couldn't figure a way out of it.

Hunter had him by the balls. He had somehow figured out Dean's secret and from the look in his eyes yesterday, Dean didn't doubt that if pushed Hunter would go through with his threat and oust Dean.

Dean wondered though how he was going to keep Seth from playing the hero by not letting him catch wind that he was in Hunter's clutches again. Thankfully, he didn't also have to worry about Roman who was still at home recovering. But, he was still going to have to come up with the excuse of the century. Shrugging mentally, Dean tried to focus back on the game and relax while he still could.

The game so far was proving to be a tough and gritty football game. The defense of the opposing team was solid and hard hitting which kept the game so far to a low score. Seth had a few catches but paid dearly for those when each time he was soon slammed into the ground with such force that the whole crowd would wince. But Seth was a tough player and would instantly get up a little worse for wear but he would survive.

At half time Dean got up and walked around a bit to stretch his legs when he noticed that his stomach was growling. Dean realized he hadn't eaten much since Hunter's threat. There was something about having to wait around and go to one's doom willingly that really killed the appetite. Dean took a look at the concession stand. The line wasn't that long and he should really eat something.

He has just gotten in line when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. Dean glanced back not sure who it could be when he saw that it was Seth's father. He remembered now that Seth had mentioned that his father would be coming to the game tonight but he would be a bit late because of work. What was his name again? Dean had a horrible memory when it came to people's names.

"Hey, you're Dean right? I'm Mark, Seth's dad," said Mark rather friendly as he extended a hand to Dean.

Dean took the offered hand, silently grateful that he had introduced himself so that it wouldn't be awkward when he realized that Dean hadn't remembered his name. "Yeah, how are you sir?" asked Dean, he had always been wary around adults because in his experience they usually screwed him over whether it was intentional or unintentional.

"Just call me Mark, Dean. Sir makes me sounds so old," stated Mark who smiled at the young man. "And I've been good, thanks for asking. How about yourself? I couldn't help but notice that you seemed to have something on your mind."

"M' fine," said Dean as nonchalantly as he could manage. Squirming a little under Mark's gaze. The man was looking at Dean as if he could read every thought in his mind.

"Are you sure? Seth considers you to be a very good friend and if I can help you in any way I'd be glad to do it," said Mark as the line continued to move forward.

"No, really I am fine," shrugged Dean trying his hardest to seem casual, "I'm just dealing with some teen angst, it's nothing important."

"Like what?"

Damn, thought Dean, this guy just wouldn't quit. He didn't want to be rude to Seth's dad. He didn't want Mark to forbid Seth from hanging out with him because he had really just gotten used to the idea of having friends and he found that he liked it quite a lot. So he settled on more ambiguity.

"You know, stuff," said Dean lamely trailing off, his mind failing to come up with a good lie. And thankfully at that point, he was next in line. Grateful for the distraction, Dean ordered a hotdog and made sure to get out of Mark's line of sight as quickly as possible. The last thing he needed was to be interrogated further.

People were starting to crowd back into the bleachers again and as Dean threw away his garbage he suddenly noticed Randy talking intensely with another member of the opposite team. That's weird, thought Dean, Seth had told him that apparently this team was a long-standing rival and that the opposing teams couldn't stand each other. As Dean started to walk forward to get a closer look, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder that turned him around roughly.

Dean immediately knocked the hand away and put his fists up and was met with the unpleasant sight of Dave.

"Relax, Ambrose I'm just hear to deliver a message from Hunter," Dave said although from his smug face, Dean could tell that he was obviously enjoying the fact that he had gotten him riled up.

"What is it?" growled Dean in a low raspy voice.

"He said that you should meet us as soon as the game ends in the parking lot so we can get the 'party' started as soon as possible," smirked Dave, "and to also remind you that if you don't show, he will gladly phone the authorities."

"I'll show," spat Dean, "you should get going, the second half is about to start." And with that Dean turned on his heel and headed back to the bleachers, his stomach turning in knots.

* * *

><p>Seth shouted out his frustration as he paced on the sidelines as special teams took the field. He took a swig of Gatorade and tried to turn his frustrations into positive energy to put himself into a better mindset.<p>

His performance so far hadn't been great thanks, in part, to the opposing team's defense. This defense was really targeting him. During every play he was usually double or even triple teamed and without fail at the end of every play he found himself on the ground regardless of whether or not he had the ball. He had already even taken a few illegal hits, which the stupid referees didn't even call.

The defense finally stopped their opponent's offense but that only gave them three minutes left in the fourth quarter to score. Right now they were down by two so they just needed a field goal to win. Pumping himself and his fellow teammates up, Seth took the field. After a few successful run plays, they were driving up the field but Seth knew that they were still way out of field goal range. They needed a big play to give their kicker a chance at making the field goal.

As Seth joined the huddle, he was surprised when Randy addressed him. "Seth, so you're gonna run a post route and I will be looking to you so do your best to get open. I know it's been tough for you all game out there but I believe in you. You're quick so find a way to get open. Got it!"

Seth nodded, even more surprised at Randy's manner. He hadn't acted like this towards him since that infamous incident in the woods that Friday night. As Seth lined up, a bit of hope welled up in his chest. Perhaps Randy was finally seeing reason and realized the error of his ways or had simply resigned himself to the fact that the Shield had won.

Seth put his game face on as the ball was snapped. He easily ran past the cornerback who didn't even jolt him at the line. Strange, he had done that every time so far in this game, why stop now? Perhaps they are getting sloppy because they think they already won, thought Seth smiling to himself, well I'll show them.

Picking up speed, Seth ran down the sidelines and turned his head looking for the ball. Soon enough, he saw Randy throw a beautiful ball in his direction and without even having to slow down Seth caught it. Just as soon as Seth's hands closed around the ball, he was blindsided.

The world seemed to slow down as Seth felt one guy tackle him from the side while another wrapped his legs up. Seth knew this wasn't going to end well and sure enough as he went down he felt his right leg snap sickeningly.

Seth let out a pained shout as he hit the ground. He could barely think. The pain was so all consuming that he didn't know what was going around him except for the harsh whisper in his ear, "Evolution always has a plan B."

Seth looked up at the guy that had said that with confusion. He was on the opposing team. What was going on? The guy just gave him a hate filled smile and walked away. Seth grimaced and clutched at his leg which now felt like it was on fire and as he rolled to he side, through the sea of legs surrounding him he saw Randy who just looked at him coldly as if to say 'this is what you deserve'.

Seth closed his eyes and struggled to keep his breathing even. He knew it was bad. They weren't moving him and were calling for an ambulance. As another wave of pain hit him, Seth practically screamed and opened his eyes just in time to witness Hunter, Randy and Dave dragging Dean away in the distance. Seth's eyes widened as he realized Evolution's plan but before he could open his mouth to let anyone know what was going on, he passed out.

* * *

><p>Dean saw red as he witnessed Seth's leg twist horribly and snap before his very eyes. Instinctively he immediately glanced to Hunter who was looking at him with a knowing smirk and Dean's suspicions were confirmed.<p>

While everyone ran towards Seth, Dean flew at Hunter intending to pummel him into the ground until there was nothing left of him. However, in his rage he failed to notice Randy and Dave who grabbed both his arms and pinned them behind his back before he even got to Hunter.

"Let's go," said Hunter as he nodded his head towards the parking lot.

Dean opened his mouth in protest but it was quickly silenced by Randy's hand who also hissed at him to keep quiet. Fuck that, thought Dean as he twisted and kicked trying to throw them off him. He realized now that he would rather take his chances with child services than be at Hunter's mercy again. But it was to no avail. No one seemed to notice as he was roughly dragged into the parking lot and forced into the backseat of Hunter's car.

Dean tried to shout and get out of the car and to his credit he put up a decent fight and gave Randy a split lip and knocked one of Dave's teeth out. However the numbers game soon overwhelmed him. Dave shoved a dirty piece of cloth down his throat to silence him and pinned him down on the seat on his stomach as Randy quickly hogtied his hands and feet together and then ran the other piece of rope around his neck so that he was forced to arch his back uncomfortably so that he could breath. They then shoved him down on the floor, and casually buckled themselves in as Hunter started the car.

Dean tried to relax and breath but it was difficult with the gag and the stress position that he was forced into. He tried to think of how he could get himself out of this one, but nothing came to mind. His thoughts kept going back to Seth and he cringed inwardly as the picture in his mind of Seth's leg breaking kept replaying in his mind over and over again.

Too soon they reached their destination. They dragged him out of the car, still hogtied.

"Put him in the house. I'll be there in a minute," ordered Hunter to Randy and Dave as he went to the trunk.

Dean was so busy on concentrating on breathing that he didn't realize until they dumped him on the floor that they were at his house.

Judah must be out hunting, thought Dean to himself, otherwise he knew that Judah would have attacked them already. But perhaps it's for the best, thought Dean sadly, they might kill Judah if he attacks them.

Randy roughly pulled the gag from Dean's mouth, which made breathing slightly easier, but not by much. Dean desperately hoped that they would untie him from this position soon because he was getting so tired from having to hold his head up just so he could breathe.

Hunter walked in with a big, black bag and set it down on the card table as he casually took off his jacket and set it on a nearby chair. Dean was incensed, how dare he walk around his house like he owned it. Hunter sat down as Randy and Dave leaned against the wall. Hunter just watched Dean for a few minutes as he struggled to breathe and after what seemed like years to Dean he finally spoke, "How're you feeling Ambrose?"

Dean fixed Hunter with a hard glare but didn't speak, he didn't think he had enough air to spare.

Hunter chuckled, "I guess not great. Although I wonder how's Seth's doing? Do you think he's better off than you?"

Dean thrashed around on the floor as Hunter brought up Seth. He managed to get enough air into his lungs to speak a little bit, "You…you promised you wouldn't hurt him," said Dean wincing as he knew he sounded so weak and pitiful as his words came out in a breathy whisper.

"Oh, poor Ambrose," said Hunter mockingly as he squatted down to Dean's level and grabbed his face with one hand making him stare into his eyes, "you need to learn to pay attention when people are speaking. I said I wouldn't harm **a hair** on his head." As he spoke, Hunter reached into his back pocket with his free hand and held up a bleached blonde piece of hair in front of Dean and then let it fall to the ground. "You can keep that one," he said as he roughly pushed Dean's head back towards the floor.

Dean furiously tried to keep back his tears as he stared at the strand of hair that was Seth's. It wasn't fair. Seth's only crime was that he was Dean's friend and he had now paid dearly for that. Both Seth and Roman.

Dean gasped a little in relief as he realized they were untying him from the stress position but his relief didn't last long as they threw him into a chair and subsequently tied him up again. Dean's limbs were so weak from being in one position for so long that he could hardly move them let alone offer resistance.

When they were done, the three of them stood back to admire their handiwork. Dean, for his part, schooled his features into a scowl determined that they would not break him.

Hunter clapped his hands gleefully like a small child on Christmas morning, "Well then, let's get started."

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**Thanks so much to all my faithful readers. **


	14. Chapter 14

Break Free

Roman was in his room playing _Call of Duty_ when he got the news. His back had been feeling much better today, but per the doctor and his mom's strict instructions he was not to go back to school until Monday and football was out of the question. He had been a little cranky about that because he wanted to at least sit on the sidelines and cheer on his team. Plus, he was nervous leaving Seth alone with Evolution. Yeah he had Dean to watch his back, but there were places that Dean wasn't allowed like the locker room.

His mom came into his room and said that Seth's dad just called and that Seth had broken his leg during the last play of the game. Roman immediately had a sinking suspicion that Hunter was behind this. He had no proof but he would have bet that Hunter and his goons had orchestrated it. It was just too convenient.

"Roman," his mom said snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, mom," he replied, "is Seth going to be okay?" he asked really concerned.

"Well he's probably not going to play anymore this season, but he's a strong young man and he'll heal relatively quickly," his mom said sitting down beside him and running a hand through his hair. "I'd wish you would tell me what's going on, Rome," she said softly.

Roman grimaced as he heard his mom, he knew he was causing her pain when he refused to tell her everything that was going on or who exactly hurt him. But he felt like he couldn't do that without betraying Dean's trust. So he resolved to remain silent until Dean was ready to talk.

"I just can't mom, I'm sorry," he muttered avoiding her gaze by staring down at the video game console in his hands.

His mom let out a sigh of frustration, "Well if you ever need to talk, you know I'm here right?"

"Yeah," he said looking up at his mom with a small smile.

His mom returned the smile before switching gears in the conversation.

"I didn't think so, but did Dean drop by after the game?" she asked.

Roman scrunched up his face in confusion, "No, why?"

"He was at the game and he drove with Seth, but after Seth was taken to the hospital in the ambulance. Mark looked around for him but couldn't find him. Plus Seth's car was still there so Dean didn't take it. Mark is at the hospital right now with Seth but he just wanted to make sure that Dean got home okay."

"That is weird," said Roman thinking out loud, "and he doesn't have a driver's license. Although that hasn't stopped him before…" said Roman trailing off before he said too much in front of his mom. "You know what, mom, I'll just swing by Dean's house to see if he's there," said Roman getting up gingerly as he reached for his coat.

"It's late young man and you are still not a hundred percent. Why don't you just call him?"

"Dean doesn't have a cell phone. And his grandpa doesn't own a phone, he doesn't like modern technology," said Roman quickly thinking up a lie when his mom gave him an odd stare that Dean didn't have access to any phone. In truth, Dean just didn't have a cell phone or a landline because it cost too much. "Besides it's only ten o'clock mom, I'll be there and back before you know it."

His mom stared at him long and hard before throwing up her hands and giving a deep sigh, "Fine, but you better be back before midnight, Roman, since you're feeling so much better I have chores for you tomorrow and I want you up before noon."

Roman grinned slyly up at his mom as he put his shoes on and gave her a peck on her cheek as he stood up and walked out the door. "Thanks, mom." Roman shivered as he got in his car and turned it on. Fall was definitely coming. He thought it was a bit strange that Dean didn't accompany or at least try to go with Seth to the hospital. He might not have wanted to have gotten interrogated again though, Roman thought. And if he knew Dean, he was probably blaming himself for Seth's injury. Roman was thinking he might have to calm down Dean again like him and Seth did a week ago.

What Roman didn't know was that he was going to find something far worse.

* * *

><p>Hunter reached into the bag and pulled out a six pack of beer and tossed one each to Dave and Randy before opening one for himself, "We might as well take our time and enjoy ourselves guys," said Hunter as he raised his can in a toast, "thanks to Ambrose here for letting us use his humble abode," said Hunter with a mocking smirk to Dean, "no one is sure to bother us."<p>

They all took a big swig of beer, Hunter smacked his lips in satisfaction before taking another chair, placing it in front of Dean and sat on it backwards studying Dean who was preparing himself mentally for what was to come and focusing on controlling his breathing.

"Let's play a game, Ambrose," said Hunter deciding what he wanted to do first.

"Not in the mood for games," said Dean quietly.

"Oh come on, you're such a spoilsport," said Hunter punching Dean's shoulder, "it'll be fun!" Hunter reached into the bag again and this time brought out a large manila folder with stacks of paper within it.

_What the hell_, thought Dean, Hunter was definitely losing it. _Was Hunter planning on boring him to death?_ He glimpsed Randy and Dave trade confusing looks. They also seemed to be in the dark on what Hunter was planning.

"Let's play a little game I like to call, the Truth game," said Hunter sitting back down on the chair.

_Very original_, thought Dean sarcastically, rolling his eyes. _Did he come up with that one all on his own?_

"I ask you a question and you tell me the truth," stated Hunter slowly, "if you don't, I hurt you. Simple enough, right? Can you handle that Ambrose?" said Hunter his tone going from light hearted to menacingly so quickly that Dean wondered if Hunter was bipolar.

"Fuck you." Dean had had enough of being toyed with, he was just sick of it.

Hunter didn't take too kindly to Dean's words and with a dark look on his face kicked Dean's chair so that it crashed over taking Dean, who was bound tightly to it, with it. Dean gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and he landed awkwardly on his back. His head had also connected with the ground sickeningly and for a moment he swore he saw stars. His world tilted upright again as Randy and Dave hoisted him back up to his original position, Hunter hadn't moved from his seat.

"Are you going to play nicely Ambrose or am I going to have to do that again," growled Hunter smashing his now empty beer can with one fist.

"Fine," said Dean struggling to catch his breath, his ribs having been aggravated from the fall.

"Fine, what?" said Hunter sharply as he got up and pulled Dean's head back by grabbing a chunk of his hair and twisting it hard.

"I'll play your stupid ass game," said Dean hotly glaring up at Hunter. Hunter shoved his head back and sat down, deciding to let Dean's insult go, for now.

"What's your real name?" asked Hunter.

"Dean Ambrose," said Dean without missing a beat.

Hunter let out a big sigh, "Wrong!" and without preamble he kicked Dean's chair again but this time it fell on its side. Dean couldn't stop himself from letting out a cry as his head again connected with the ground and his ribs painfully jolted against the wooden arm of the chair. Dean shut his eyes trying to force air back into his lungs and groaned as Randy and Dave again set him upright.

"Look at me, Ambrose," said Hunter slapping Dean's face. Deciding to cooperate for now, Dean slowly opened his eyes looking up into the crazed face of Hunter.

"What…is…your…name?"

Dean stared at him, confused. _That's my name. What does he want me to say? Unless…_ Dean gulped as he looked back at that manila folder. _No. It wasn't possible. How could have Hunter gotten that information? Then again, _he thought to himself, _he had figured out my secret._

Dean let out a startled cry as Hunter backhanded him, getting impatient with Dean's silence. "Tell me!" he roared in Dean's face.

Dean tasted blood in his mouth and looking up at Hunter's murderous expression he decided to play along for now, still not understanding Hunter's end game. "Jon Moxley," he said simply.

Hunter grinned at his answer and patted his head roughly, "There now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Still grinning like a madman, Hunter went back to the manila folder he had placed on the card table and opened it up. "You were born Jonathan Moxley to a certain Susan Moxley," said Hunter reading from the folder, "she never named your father though, probably slept with so many men she couldn't keep track of them all," said Hunter nastily as Randy and Dave laughed.

Dean's cheeks burned in embarrassment as he stared down at his lap not saying a word.

"So, Ambrose or perhaps I should call you Jon or Moxley," said Hunter sitting back down obviously wanting to ask another question to torment him further, "tell me, do you remember your mother at all?"

Dean clenched his jaw as he faced Hunter trying to make himself go numb as he answered, "Not really, the last time I saw her I was three and a half. I remember she had hair and eyes like mine. People would say that I looked a lot like her," said Dean softly as he finished praying that that was enough of an answer for Hunter.

"Oh come on, Ambrose," said Hunter obviously enjoying himself immensely, "you left out the best parts! The last time you saw her… was in a courtroom right before she gave you up to the state," said Hunter picking up the folder and carrying it to the chair with him, "now let me know if I'm getting any of this wrong?" he said with a vicious grin to Dean before proceeding, "they first took you away when you were two because your pathetic excuse of a mother got into a car crash both drunk and high while you were in the backseat. You were placed in foster care while your mom went to mandatory rehab for six weeks. After that you were given back to her but she just couldn't stay clean, could she? Answer me, Ambrose," said Hunter nudging his chair roughly.

Dean somehow found his voice; this trip down memory lane was more painful to him than any physical torture that Hunter could have come up with, "No, she couldn't."

"So, after some more back and forth with foster care, she gave you up," said Hunter mirthfully as Randy and Dave were chuckling and making crude jokes about Dean and his mother in the background, "How did you feel about that Ambrose? And you better tell me the truth," Hunter stated with a warning.

Dean took a breath to steady his nerves, "I felt alone…abandoned," Dean stopped talking as his three tormentors burst out in cruel laughter at his confessed feelings. Dean just stared silently at them, his fingernails digging into his palms to prevent himself from crying.

After a moment, Hunter was able to control himself, "Oh, Ambrose, this is just too good! I don't think I've ever seen you look so sad!" remarked Hunter as he took another swig of his beer. Hunter then seemed to get an idea as he looked from the beer in his hand to Dean.

"I'm sorry, Ambrose, where are my manners," said Hunter as he sat back down in front of Dean, "Did you want some?" He asked with a triumphant look in his eyes, holding the beer out to Dean.

White hot rage filled Dean as he stared back at Hunter, "No," he said in a deadly voice.

Hunter just gave Dean a smug look. "Why? Is it because you're afraid to drink, Ambrose? Are you afraid that if you get just a small taste you'll turn into an addict like dear old mommy?"

Hunter's words hit too close to home. Dean pulled at his restraints and turned his head from Hunter's piercing gaze, he had never wanted to escape a situation so badly in all of his life. But Hunter was having none of it. He motioned to Randy who grabbed Dean's jaw hard and turned him back to face Hunter.

"Why are you denying what you are, Ambrose? I called it before I even knew about your past. I've always known that you're trash. Why do you think the teachers hate you and call you troubled behind your back? Why do you think you always sit alone at lunch?"

"No…you're wrong," said Dean struggling against Randy's grip hating how pitiful he must sound, "Seth and Roman are…"

"They're what?" barked Hunter harshly cutting off Dean, "Your friends! Don't make me laugh. They just feel sorry for you. You're just their project to make themselves feel good. I mean Roman didn't even really start talking to you before you became his tutor. Right? After this year, they'll go on to bigger and better things and leave you without a thought, because no one likes to hang around filth for too long!" Hunter finished as he spit in Dean's face.

Dean froze at Hunter's words. It was too much, bringing up his past, his mom, his insecurities, right now Dean just wanted to curl up in a corner and die.

Hunter chuckled as Dean hung his head. He had finally cracked a hole in Dean's wall and it felt so good.

Dean gasped in surprise as his chair was suddenly kicked over again. He landed on his back and let out a grunt. No sooner had he landed on the ground though but Randy was on him, forcing his mouth open as Hunter poured the rest of his beer down Dean's throat. Dean gagged, sputtered and thrashed around as much as he could. He tried not to swallow, but he couldn't help it as he did it so that he could breathe. He felt a dull pain as Hunter hit his face with the now empty beer can and heard the three of them laughing again at his reaction.

"Let's give him another," said Dave as he handed another can to Hunter.

"Good thinking," said Hunter, "come on, Ambrose open up and take your medicine like a good boy," he mocked.

Dean resigned himself to it and tried to swallow but it still felt like he was drowning when he couldn't swallow fast enough. His jaw ached from being forced open and some of the beer even went up his nostrils making breathing seem almost impossible. Dean coughed weakly as they finally let up having run out of beer. Dean was silently grateful that Hunter had only brought a six pack. He didn't know how much more of that he could take.

"I think we should give Dean a permanent reminder of what he truly is," said Hunter rummaging around in his bag as Randy and Dave placed Dean's chair back up. "I propose another game!" said Hunter this time to Randy and Dave ignoring Dean as he held up a black marker. "We'll take turns writing what we think best describes Ambrose anywhere on his body. Then we'll vote on which one we like the best and carve it into his skin," said Hunter staring at Dean as he flicked open a knife and set it down ominously on the table.

"Let me go first, I've got an idea," said Randy holding out his hand for the marker. When Hunter obliged, Randy wasted no time in going over and wrote 'Bastard' on Dean's forearm. Dean tried to tug on his bindings again but it was no use. He was tied down good and tight. He realized the best he could hope for now was that he got through this alive and with his sanity intact. He tried to think of something else, to detach his mind from what was happening but he couldn't really manage it.

Dave was giggling uncontrollably as he wiped Dean's face roughly and then proceeded to write what Dean assumed was a long derogatory comment on his forehead.

When Dave was finished, Randy fist pumped him apparently liking what he had written, but Hunter scowled and snatched the marker from Dave.

"You're too long winded," he snarled. Hunter walked up to an exhausted Dean and ripped his shirt a little to expose his chest. Dean winced as Hunter dug into his skin with the marker making sure that whatever he was writing was visible. Dean again couldn't see what he had written but judging from the looks on Randy and Dave's faces it was horrible.

Hunter backed away from Dean, clearly loving this and picked up the knife from the table, glancing at Dean like a piece of meat.

"Well boys, now we vote."

***ducks flaming arrows* I'm sorry I actually didn't set out to write another cliff hanger chapter but that's what it turned into and I figure this is better than no update at all. Also, I don't mean to offend anybody with the 'bipolar' comment, I realize that it is a serious condition and should not be made lightly of but I thought that in Dean's mind this is what would be going through his head in this stressful situation.**

**Again, big thanks to all of my readers for sticking with me so far. You guys keep me going :)**


	15. Chapter 15

Break Free

As Roman turned into the long and winding driveway, he noticed that the mailbox had been run over recently, and Roman knew that he wasn't responsible for it. He supposed a passing car could have clipped it. From the road, Dean's driveway was hard to spot and even with Dean pointing it out to Roman; he had almost missed it and had barely avoided hitting the mailbox himself.

However, Roman couldn't shake the feeling that something was off and in the end it was his intuition that made him turn off the lights of the car and stop halfway up the hill to Dean's cabin. Turning the car off, Roman put the emergency brakes on and quietly got out of the car. Hoping that his instincts were dead wrong, Roman crept towards the cabin.

As he got to the top, Roman froze as he spotted Hunter's car looming beside the cabin. Roman ducked behind a tree, praying that he hadn't been spotted. After a few moments, Roman peeked around the tree and tried to look to see if he could glimpse anything through the window. The lights were on and more than one person was in there. Roman bet that all three members of Evolution were in there and at that moment, a twinge of pain went through his back reminding him that he was not all the way healed and depending on Dean's status he wasn't sure if they could take Evolution or not.

All of a sudden, Roman jumped as he heard cries of pain coming from the house that were definitely Dean. Hearing those cries, spurred him to action and Roman decided what he had to do.

Roman hated to stop to do this before trying to rescue Dean, but, he figured that if his rescue attempt failed, it would be a comfort to know that backup was on the way. So hiding behind the tree, Roman dialed 911.

* * *

><p>"So…it's decided then," remarked Hunter casually as if carving someone's skin was a task he did everyday, "The one on his chest is the winner!" exclaimed Hunter as he twirled the knife expertly in his hand and stepped forward. Dean couldn't help himself as Hunter came closer he tried to inch away from him and the knife even though he knew it was physically impossible. Hunter noticed this and decided to draw it out further. He liked seeing Dean squirm.<p>

He slowly brought the knife to Dean's cheek and pressed the point of it slightly into Dean's skin. Not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough that with a flick of his wrist he could easily cut him. Dean forced himself to keep eye contact with Hunter instead of staring at the knife. It was like a perverse game of chicken.

From his cheek, Hunter slowly traced down to Dean's jaw, then his neck drawing extremely close to the major artery until the point of the knife rest over the crude word scrawled on Dean's chest. Dean shut his eyes and waited for the pain to start.

But then Hunter did something unexpected. He removed the knife. Dean cautiously opened his eyes wondering if this was yet another trick. Dean looked to see Hunter going back to the folder and flipping through it, apparently lost in thought.

"You know, Ambrose," said Hunter conversationally, "there is even more information on your brother here than on you. Why do you think that is?" he asked seeming genuinely curious.

His brother, wow it had been a long time since Dean had thought of him. Dean shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly have no idea, I don't think I've actually ever met him," said Dean wearily.

"He's younger, right? Although not by much, it says here he was only 10 months younger than you" said Hunter again seeming very curious.

"Yeah, I remember my mom or someone saying that Ty and I were Irish twins," said Dean trying to distract Hunter and keep him talking for as long as possible, "I used to think that meant I had a twin and I was kind of disappointed when I learned later what an Irish twin actually was," Dean was rambling now, "I thought it would be really cool if I had a twin out there in the world, you know, someone who looked like me and I would fantasize that we would meet some day like in those corny movies…"

Hunter smiled nastily, "Who knew you were so sentimental, Ambrose. Why did you never see him?"

"Who?" smiled Dean cheekily, even now he still couldn't resist pushing Hunter's buttons.

Hunter narrowed his eyes at Dean, "If you're bored with talking, I could go right to cutting you up," he threatened taking a few steps toward Dean with the wicked looking knife.

"Okay, okay, let's not be too hasty," said Dean quickly, nervously eyeing the knife, "the way one of my foster parents explained it to me was that he was adopted from birth by his dad's family. We're technically half-brothers."

"Well I guess that makes sense," said Hunter shutting the file, his curiosity obviously satisfied.

"How did you get that file?" asked Dean suddenly trying to put off the inevitable.

An amused look crossed Hunter's face as he looked at Dean, "You sure you want to know?"

Hunter's answer made Dean hesitate for a second but only for a second. He really did want to know. "Yeah, I do."

"It was your buddy, Seth," said Hunter slowly with a twisted smile.

Dean's insides grew cold at Hunter's words. His mind racing from the implications of what Hunter had just said to him. What…Seth…he wouldn't…he couldn't. Dean shook his head. NO. Hunter must be lying. Seth would never do that to him. Seth was his friend. Seth was lying in a hospital because of him.

"I'm not lying, Ambrose," said Hunter smugly as he correctly guessed Dean's thoughts. "I got this from Seth, well, I guess you could say I technically 'took' it from his locker but it's all the same in the end."

Dean blinked sorting through his thoughts. So Seth didn't betray him, at least not directly. But why did he have a file on him in his locker? Did he not trust Dean? Was he planning on reporting him to child services?

"I'm getting bored," stated Hunter jogging Dean out of his own thoughts, "I think I've waited long enough," spat out Hunter as he maliciously came towards Dean, knife in hand. He roughly grabbed a handful of Dean's hair, pulled his head back and leaned in to whisper into Dean's ear, "After tonight, you will finally learn to fear me, Ambrose."

Dean glared defiantly back at Hunter even as he raised the knife to his chest.

All of a sudden the door swung open as Roman barreled into the room with a bat in hand. Randy and Dave stood up quickly from their chairs pushing them back. Dean hoped for a second that his ordeal was finally over but that dashed when he felt the cold blade of the knife at his throat with Hunter standing right behind him.

"Drop the bat, Roman," sneered Hunter as he held the knife threateningly close to Dean's throat, "or I'll slice his throat open and end his pathetic life right here and now!"

Roman's eyes bulged as he realized the lengths to which Hunter was willing to go. It was official. Hunter had gone insane and he wasn't the only one who thought so. At Hunter's words Randy and Dave looked surprisingly in his direction and were wearing matching expressions of shock.

"Hunter what are you doing!" shouted Dave as he looked from Hunter to Roman.

"You can't kill him!" added Randy suddenly looking scared out of his mind.

"Of course I can," stated Hunter simply, "Roman I won't say it again. Drop…the…bat," with each word he pressed the knife further into Dean's throat drawing a little bit of blood.

"Okay, stop it! I'm doing it," protested Roman as he slowly lowered the bat to the ground and kicked it away from him.

"Better," said Hunter as he took the pressure off the knife a tad. Dean took shallow breaths; he dared not move an inch.

"Hunter, I didn't agree to this!" shouted Randy, "Let him go, we've had our fun, now let's just go!"

"Oh would you just shut up, Randal," scoffed Hunter, "God! Your whining is unbearable at times! The both of you need to grow a backbone."

"Hunter, please," said Roman slowly putting his hands up in a non-threatening gesture but still trying to inch his way closer to Hunter and Dean, "you've made your point. Let him go."

Hunter let out a sick laugh, he felt so powerful right now, literally holding Dean's life in his hands, and the feeling to him was intoxicating. "And what if I don't. What are you going to do Roman, if I decide to end his life? You know what? I think I will…AHHHHH!" Hunter screamed as Judah suddenly burst through the flap in the door, leapt across the room and dug his teeth into the hand that held the knife to Dean's throat.

Roman moved forward as well and dragged Dean who had been knocked to the ground again still tied to the chair as Judah had collided with Hunter, away from the scuffle. Randy and Dave, being the cowards they were, fled out the door.

"GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!" screamed Hunter as Judah continued to attack the sadistic teen. Hunter had dropped the knife but that didn't stop Judah from attacking who was furious that this creature had dared to harm and threaten the life of his master.

Roman sighed in relief as he could hear the sirens of the police coming up the driveway and turned to Dean to check on him.

Dean groaned in pain, he had felt some of his ribs break with that final fall and the cut on his throat stung like a bitch. It's over though, he told himself, right before he gave into the darkness. It's finally over.

* * *

><p><em>Beep. Beep. Beep<em>.

Dean found that it was hard for him to open his eyes. But when he finally managed it, he was surprised to see that his hospital room was full of people. Mr. and Mrs. Reigns were there talking in hushed whispers in the corner with Seth's dad, while Roman's siblings were sitting on various pieces of furniture and talking amongst themselves and playing on their phones.

"Hey Dean," said Roman quietly as he came into the room and was the first to realize that Dean was awake, "you scared me for a second there."

Dean took the cumbersome oxygen mask off his face and licked his dry lips as he struggled to speak.

"Hang on sweetie," said Mrs. Reigns as she brought a cup of water over and gently brought it to Dean's lips so that he could take a sip.

"Ah, so the tough guy is awake," said a strange voice as Dean realized that it was the doctor coming into the room, "How are you feeling, Dean?"

"Fine," croaked Dean as he tried to sit up in his bed but failed.

"On a scale from one to ten how would you rate your pain?"

"Four?" said Dean thinking that the question was a stupid one.

"Seriously," asked the doctor as he raised one eyebrow at Dean.

"Seriously." Stated Dean narrowing his eyes at the doctor, he hated it when adults didn't take him at his word.

"Okay, just checking," said the doctor raising his arms, sensing Dean's growing hostility, "well it looks like it's been a rough day for your family but at least you get to share a room with your brother and not a random stranger," said the doctor with a smile at Dean.

"What?" Dean's brain was fuzzy. He must not have heard the doctor correctly. Whatever could he have meant?

"Dean."

Dean turned and looked at Seth who was lying in the hospital bed next to him and wearing an expression on his face that Dean had never seen before.

"Yeah?"

Seth hesitated; his mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to find the right words to say. Roman looked between the two with a wide smile on his face and Dean blinked furiously as his mind pieced together the puzzle.

Why would Seth have a file of him in his locker?

_More on your brother in this file than you_…

Why would the doctor say he was rooming with his brother?

_Ty_…

Dean looked at Seth and saw his thoughts confirmed on his face.

"Tyler?"

"Yes."

"Nice to finally meet you."

Seth smiled, "Same here."

Dean returned the smile. It didn't matter what happened now. He had found his brother. He had a family and friends that cared about him. It was safe to say that Dean Ambrose wasn't alone in the world anymore.

THE END

**Wow, I finally did it! As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. I really am grateful to all of my readers, I couldn't have finished this without you.**

**Special thanks to Willow Edmond, Raign, Seth rollins babe, Iremmy, PunkShieldGirl, nattiebroskette and DeanAmbroseMySexyLunitic for their continued support of this story from beginning to end. Your reviews kept me going when I wanted to quit :)**

**I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of this story.**

**Merry Christmas!**


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